Dead Space: Into the Abyss
by EcoSeeker247
Summary: Timmy Stamford is a young boy whose obnoxious attitude is a turnoff to everyone around him. So one day, the fates decide that he needs to be taught a lesson in the form of being pulled into Dead Space! Can Timmy survive the horrors of the USG Ishimura in time to make a change? Or will he become permanently set in his ways? Rated T for violence and language.
1. The Fight that Started It All

Hello! So this is my first _Dead Space _fanfic, as I am still relatively new to this fandom. I've been dying to play the first game for a while, and eventually, my curiosity got the best of me. I have to say: it's a great game so far (I'm already on Chapter 7 as I'm typing this).

So you know how people write stories where people from our world get pulled into a videogame? I haven't seen any of those for _Dead Space, _so I've decided to try to write one of my own. But don't worry: this won't be like a lot of those stories that you see here (you know, where the OC teams up with the protagonist and falls in love with him/her in the span of a few missions). No romance, and hopefully, I haven't written a Gary Stu in here (but you are free to let me know if I have). I'm going to tell you: you may not like my OC at first, and if you don't, good: you're not supposed to like him right now. I won't tolerate flames, but constructive criticism is welcome, so if there's anything I'm doing wrong with the story, or if there are any _Dead Space _facts that I messed up, let me know (I still don't know everything about this game, as I'm new to it). With that in mind, enjoy! :)

Oh, by the way, Isaac Clarke will speak in my story, just so that there can be more interaction not only with my OC, but the other canon characters as well.

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs are mine. Everyone else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

**WARNING: **There are _Dead Space _spoilers throughout this story.

**NOTE: **When I first wrote this story, I was new to the franchise and didn't know too much about the backstory, but now that I've played through most of the games and seen both Downfall and Aftermath, I'm going to go back and make a few revisions to the first two chapters of this story. I'm not changing anything else (including the sequel, which will be the same as before), but I want to fit more of the canon timeline.

* * *

_Twinkle, twinkle, little star,_

_How I wonder what you are._

_Up above the world so high,_

_Like a diamond in the sky._

_Twinkle, twinkle, little star,_

_How I wonder what you are!_

* * *

"Ugh!" I growled as I turned on the car radio and stumbled upon one of the stations that was playing that nursery rhyme, "Mom and David must have been listening to this station recently." I rested my head against the driver's seat as I waited for my thirteen-year-old brother, Allen, to get out of school. Ever since I turned sixteen and got my license, my parents allowed me to drive their car around until I got my own, which I was hoping would be soon. The girls at school would dig my new ride, you know?

"Timmy! Timmy!" I heard Allen call my name, and I looked up to see him sprinting towards me.

"Al!" I cried, opening the passenger's side and letting my brother climb into the car, "What's going on?"

"Are we still going?"

"Of course! I've got to whet my gaming appetite! You know, since I'm one of the greatest gamers in the world." I grinned, which made my brother roll his eyes. It wasn't _my _fault he couldn't understand. Besides, since when did he become so modest?

When it came to videogames, I was the man. Every game I've ever touched in my life, I've been able to beat with relative ease. I'm not kidding; you can ask my younger brother, Allen. I've played all sorts of games: children's games, survival horror, war games, you name it. We were on our way to Game Stop at the moment to see what games were there this time. Hopefully, there was something good.

"Timmy!" Allen cried to me once we were inside, "Get a load of this!"

"What?" I asked, walking over to my brother and staring at the game he was pointing to. We were perusing through a few used Playstation 3 games. After beating _Resident Evil 5 _God knew how many times, it was time for a change.

"_Dead Space_," he read, squinting his eyes, "This looks like your type of game."

Frowning, I picked up the jewel case and studied the bloody hand on the front cover. "Nah," I said, "It looks just like _Resident Evil._"

"But scarier," Allen insisted, "Just look at some of these enemies on the back cover."

I peered over his shoulder and smirked. "I bet I could take them all on," I told him, "If I can beat _Resident Evil_, then _Dead Space _should be a joke. Let's go so that we can get home."

"But Timmy!" Allen whined, "How are you going to buy the game? You're not seventeen yet!"

"Oh, don't be such a wet blanket, Al!" I growled, "I know how to turn on the charm. See that girl at the register?" I pointed to the girl, who was flipping through a game magazine.

"She's hot, and she's into videogames like I am," I continued, "Just watch and learn." Smirking, I dragged my little brother along as I approached the counter.

"Hey there, sweet thing," I greeted, "Think you can ring me up for this game?"

The girl looked up, frowned at me, and snapped, "Do I know you?"

I faltered for a minute. I wasn't used to any girl shooting me down like this. "No," I replied, "But once I buy this game, maybe you and I can get together and shoot some zombies. If you know what I mean." She took the game from me, found the disk, and slipped it into the jewel case.

"I've played this game before, you know," she explained, "And these aren't zombies."

"What do you mean, babe? Of course they're zombies!"

"Take a look at the back cover!" She pointed to one of the enemies. "Does that look like a zombie to you?"

I scoffed. Who did she think she was talking to? I was the _king _of videogames! "Babe!" I responded, "I've played a lot of survival horror games, and I think I know a zombie when I see one."

She shook her head. "You clearly know nothing about _Dead Space_, then," she said, "Security!"

"Oh, no, don't call security!" I pleaded, "I was just trying to tell you that you're wrong!"

"No," the girl quipped, "What you need is an attitude check. A _major _attitude check."

Out of nowhere, a burly security guard ran into the store. "Is everything all right, Mercedes?" he asked.

"Please escort this young man and his brother out," she demanded, pointing to us, "Make sure you pay for the game before you leave." I threw some money down and escorted my brother out of there. As we walked out of the mall and back to our car, Allen looked up at me with wide eyes.

"Am I supposed to be like that when I'm sixteen?" he asked.

"Shut up," I snapped, and Allen looked away before I could say anything else. I felt a little bad for harping on my thirteen-year-old brother, but I couldn't help it. Mercedes pissed me off. All the ladies usually loved me, so what did she mean I needed an attitude check? She was the one who needed to change.

Allen and I drove home in silence. At least I still had _Dead Space. _I couldn't wait to try it out when I got home. Good thing it was only one-player; Allen wouldn't want to play it. Besides, he was always afraid of everything, and to be honest, it was annoying.

As soon as we got home, I jumped out of the car and ran to my room to begin the game. "Timmy!" Allen cried, "I thought we were going to watch movies all afternoon!"

"Sorry, Al!" I called back, "But _Dead Space _awaits me!"

"TIMMY!" I closed the door to our shared bedroom before he could say anything else. I didn't want to hear his whining again.

From downstairs, I could hear Mom and Dad trying to feed David, and I rolled my eyes. Why were they so mushy when it came to having family time? We could stand to have a _little _time apart, right? I mean, would it be the end of the world if I didn't see them for a few hours?

Setting up the game quickly, I waited as the Playstation 3 loaded and _Dead Space _eventually made it to the main menu. I decided that I would play with the lights off and the doors closed; the scarier the better.

_Mercedes is wrong, _I thought, _These zombies will be a joke. _However, as soon as I clicked "New Game", I began to feel dizzy, and before I knew it, everything was fading to black around me.

* * *

_God damn it, _I thought hours later, _Why'd I black out like that? _I felt like I was just waking up after a nice long nap, so I sat up and stretched my arms over my head. However, I instantly noticed that something was wrong.

"What the fuck?" I shouted, "Where am I?" Looking around, I noticed I was in a dark room with only flickering red lights above me. This was weird. Not my bedroom at all. Everything was quiet around me, which made me unnerved.

_Sniff sniff. _What was that? I remained tense, ready to react to anything that seemed out of the ordinary. _Sniff Sniff. _It was getting louder, so I slowly stood up so that I could be as quiet as possible. _Come on, Timmy, _I chided myself, _You've played survival horror games before. This shouldn't be any different. _

But something seemed odd about all this, and a little too convenient, if you ask me. I had to get to the bottom of this once and for all, so I willed myself to stay calm while I tried to find some answers.

The sniffing echoed even louder. "Shit," I muttered to myself, "Whatever it is is sniffing me out!"

_Sniff sniff! _Looking around, I spotted something slithering across the floor in the distance. It looked like a…well, like a skull with tentacles! _What the fuck? _I thought as I heard it sniff around for me. It was just doing its own thing on the floor, but as soon as I took a step, it whipped around to face me.

I scoffed. _That _was what was sniffing me out this whole time? That thing was puny! I could just step on it and kill it that way! "Hey there, little guy," I cooed, moving closer to it. It didn't move, but it continued to stare at me.

"I think I'm going to step on you now," I continued to coo, "You're harmless right?"

Wrong! As soon as I was close enough, it squealed, leaped up from the ground, and wrapped its tentacles around my neck. "AHH!" I cried, "Fuck you! Get off my head!" But the tiny creature wouldn't let go.

I struggled for quite some time, hoping that the beast would just give up and let me go. But it was strong. I could feel the wind being knocked out of me, and my head felt like it was about to explode, but somehow, I managed to break free from the little bastard. It leaped back down to the floor and retreated, although I somehow doubted that would be the last time I would see it. While it was distracted, I ran. I needed to get out of here!

The hallways around me were the same as the room I woke up in: dark and creepy. _All right, Timmy, _I told myself, _You can do this. Just stay calm. Just find an exit. _

But where would I begin? Would that skull with tentacles somehow find me again? I didn't want to know. I ended up roaming around for hours, though. There were no exits in sight, and all I could see around me were remains of…people. I had to admit it was sick. And not the good kind, either.

_Crash! _Up ahead, I heard something slam to the ground, which, to tell you the truth, made me nervous. And I never got nervous in harrowing situations. How could I? I was the bravest one in the Stamford house!

_Roar! _What was that? I stopped for a minute, taking deep breaths in order to slow down my rapidly beating heart. I couldn't believe how scared I was right now! I decided to press myself against the wall and move as slowly as I could; whatever was lurking around was probably looking to kill me, which I didn't want to happen. I began to creep down the hallway, feeling like I was in some survival horror video game. _Wait, _I thought, _Maybe that's why everything is the way it is! Did I…get sucked into _Dead Space?

I couldn't have. It was physically impossible! Where was everyone, then? Why was I only encountering strange enemies? And did Allen think something happened to me back at home? How _could _I return, anyway? The roaring from a few seconds ago increased in volume as I continued to move stealthily down the hallway, and as I was rounding the corner, a monster appeared out of nowhere and lunged for me.

"Shit!" I cried, leaping back as it collapsed to the ground and began swiping at my legs with its sharp claws. I stumbled back, avoiding its attacks, as it picked itself up and ran towards me again.

"What the hell are you?" I asked, though I knew asking wouldn't do any good, "Go pick on someone your own size, asshole!"

I had said the wrong thing, for the beast suddenly roared and grabbed me, locking me in its grasp. "Not again!" I snapped, attempting to break free and find a weapon. Like the skull with tentacles, this creature also aimed for my head, but I ducked at the last minute, thankfully. I punched it across the face, stunning it for a minute before running away once again with the monster in pursuit. _All right, Timmy, _I chided myself, _Find a weapon and learn how to use it. Or else run away and die. _

"Oof!" a voice suddenly cried as I ran headfirst into someone. I was surprised that there was at least someone else in this hell besides me, and at least I wasn't going through it alone.

"Hey!" I snapped, "Watch where you're going! The Stamford man has to get out of here!" I looked up at who I had collided into and stopped my tirade for a second. The man I had run into was taller than I was, and he had short, black hair while sporting a black beard. He just smiled at me without saying a word, and I wondered why he didn't just move out of my way.

"Well, Altman be praised!" he petitioned, grinning at me as if the sun had just lit up his face.

I raised my eyebrows in confusion. "Altman?" I asked with disdain, "Who the fuck is Altman?" But I suddenly began to feel dizzy from the shock of my situation, and I found myself fainting once more as this mysterious man continued to smile at me.

* * *

"Allen?" I gasped hours later when I finally came to. Unlike before, this time, there were bright lights all around me as I opened my eyes and looked around. I was in an office of some sort, and I found I was lying on a lab table. But something felt different. I felt much colder. I then realized why I was so cold when I looked down.

"AHH!" I cried, glancing down and realizing I was naked. Not even just in my boxers, but completely naked with only a white towel to cover my lower body. Who the hell undressed me while I was asleep? I only wanted my girlfriend to undress me. Not that I _had _a girlfriend, but that was another story for another day.

Suddenly, I heard a door open, and the man from before walked in, smiling at me as if I were the best thing to happen to him. I just glared at him and wrapped the towel even tighter around myself. _If this creep was the one who stripped me down, I'll break his hand, _I vowed to myself.

"You're awake," he announced, "Good."

"Was it that obvious?" I snarled, "If I were asleep, my eyes wouldn't be open."

The man laughed. "You are quite outspoken, aren't you?" was all he said, clearly not affected by my words at all.

"That's not all I'll be when I-"

"My name is Doctor Challus Mercer. I am a research scientist aboard this ship, the _USG Ishimura. _Who might you be?" I sat up straight and tensed up.

"Nobody you need to worry about!" I fumed, "Now, what did you do with my clothes?"

"You won't be needing them. That's why I took them from you."

"What are you talking about?" I demanded, "What are you going to do to me?"

Dr. Mercer didn't say anything at first, and I slowly realized he wouldn't until I revealed my name. "It's Stamford," I sighed, "Timmy Stamford. Now, what's going on around here?"

Dr. Mercer paced over to me and squeezed my upper arm, making me gasp and close my eyes. All I could concentrate on was my beating heart and how nervous I was. I didn't want this guy to see that I was scared, so instead, I thought about Allen and the first day I had officially come home from gaining some extra muscles at the gym. I remembered the amazed look he had given me, and the smirk I wore on my face as I ruffled his hair. "Hey!" I cried to the mysterious man, "No touching the cannons! The ladies at home won't approve!"

"You seem strong," Dr. Mercer commented, breaking me away from my thoughts, "Perfect for my experiments."

"Experiments?" I echoed, "Run that by me again?"

Pulling out a little recorder, Dr. Mercer began to speak into it. "Personal log, Dr. Challus Mercer," he said, "Phase Two of my experiments is about to begin. Subject's name is Timothy Stamford. Looks to be about sixteen years old, and strong enough to embrace his eventual rebirth. He has made no true attempt to resist as of yet. In fact, he seems to have appeared out of nowhere. He was found running away from God's newest creations. But now, he will become a part of it."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I demanded, "What are you going to do?" _If this is Phase Two, _I thought, _Then what happened with Phase One? _

"Just relax, my boy," the mad scientist whispered, pushing me back down by my shoulder, "Your time will come. But for now, I must check up on Phase One. It will do you good to stay here." Patting my naked shoulder this time, he walked away into a side room, and since I was still feeling tired, I didn't go anywhere. Flipping onto my side, I watched as he crossed over into one of the other rooms, and as soon as he did, screams echoed throughout the lab, making my hairs stand on end. What the hell was going on around here? Was that Phase One?

"Dr. Challus Mercer once again," I heard him announce, probably into that recorder again, "Phase One does not appear to be reacting to the treatments as of now, but he is starting to show signs of infection. If this continues over the next couple of hours, he should finally pass on to the next life and begin to transform. If the transformation is successful, then I will move on to Phase Two. For now, I will continue to monitor Phase One's vitals for any abnormal signs." Another scream pierced through my ear drums, making me shiver.

_Shit, _I thought, _I've got to get out of here._ Tying the towel around my waist, I leaped down from the lab table as quietly as possible and began to pick my way around the office. Where would I go, though? Leaving this place would mean certain death, but I didn't want to stick around for Mercer's experiments, either. I hadn't been in this game for a long time and I already thought this man was a lunatic.

My feet hurt a little bit, but I knew I would be all right. I tried to find a lab coat to cover up until I found some clothes later, but I couldn't find anything. I still heard Phase One's screams from far away, but that didn't stop me from running. "Timothy!" Mercer suddenly cried, and I held my breath in anticipation.

"Timothy!" he called again, "Where are you?" _Shit, _I thought, _Don't find me. Don't find me. _

Suddenly, a foul smell caught my attention, and I tried not to throw up. "Ugh," I groaned, holding my nose. Shutting the door to the office behind me, I advanced forward through the small, cramped space, trying to find some clothing appropriate for an infected ship, but instead finding something worse. Much worse: a severed human arm.

"Ugh!" I repeated, stumbling backwards and taking in the rest of the severed body parts that were arranged around the office like my sports trophies at home. I had to look away for a minute in order to prevent myself from throwing up. Strange symbols were scrawled on all the surrounding walls, and eerie, red lights hung from the ceilings. _This is fucking sick, _I thought to myself, _Now I really have to get out of here. _I turned to go, but as I opened the door once more, I found myself face to face with Dr. Mercer once more.

"There you are!" he cried triumphantly, "For a minute, I thought you were trying to run away. But now I see that wasn't the case." _You idiot, _I thought viciously, _That's exactly what I was trying to do. _He seemed to know that already, though.

"You cannot fight your fate," he said, taking my hand into his, which was covered in blood, so that he could lead me back to the Chemistry lab, "No one can." _Creep, _I thought, feeling my heart rate pick up again at the touch of his hand.

"Get your hand off me," I snapped, reaching up and removing his hand from mine.

"Come along," Mercer whispered, "We have to watch Phase One." He led me into one of the side rooms and passed by Phase One, who was writhing in agony on the bench he was strapped to. I had a feeling this was the first of many horrors I would witness here, and I hoped that there would be some miracle that would get me out of here in one piece.


	2. Intrigue and Escape

Here's the next chapter of "Dead Space: Into the Abyss"! Thank you to ChristheCat for reviewing and anyone else who has read this so far! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy is mine. Everyone else, as well as side plots created by me, belong to Visceral Games and EA.

**NOTE: **This chapter has been revised as well!

* * *

One hour passed after I had tried to flee from Mercer and his psychotic experiments, but now, I found myself standing next to him as we watched over Phase One, who the creep had told me was from some colony we were close to-Aegis 7, he called it_. _There was so much that I didn't know about this game that I would have to learn over time.

Phase One's skin was starting to turn a sick, brown color, but that was all, which Mercer made a note of on his recorder. I hoped I wouldn't have to witness anything else as far as this was concerned.

"Let's go," he commanded, dragging me away.

* * *

One thing I noticed over the next couple of hours was that Dr. Challus Mercer had very gentle hands. Everything he did was painless. For now, at least.

Like I assumed he did for Phase One, Mercer ran a stethoscope across my chest and back, took my blood pressure, monitored my pupils, and all that jazz. I had no idea what he was planning, but I would have to wait and see. And then find another opportunity to escape and possibly break whoever Phase One was out of here as well. I hoped my fear didn't show; as everyone I knew always told me, it was unacceptable to show how afraid you were about something.

I remained on the second doctor's bench as Mercer went through my clothes, trying to find anything that would give him a clue as to where I had come from. "Hey hey!" I snapped from my restraints, "What do you think you're doing? _Nobody _touches the Stamford man's clothes but the Stamford man!"

"Your words are irrelevant to me," Mercer replied, "Aha!" He pulled out my driver's license from the wallet in my back pocket. I remembered the day I got that photograph taken; it wasn't one of my better days.

"Hmm," he began, "According to this, you should be dead by now. _Long _dead. How can you explain this?" He waved the license in the air in front of me. I gulped for a minute, but didn't answer. How could I? I couldn't tell him this was all a videogame; he would think I was just as crazy as he was, which I certainly _wasn't_.

"I don't know," I answered, "Maybe I time traveled." I smirked, which slowly quelled my anxiety.

"Enough," Mercer snapped, holding my license under my nose, "Tell me about this."

Glaring up at him, I narrowed my eyes and whispered, "Go fuck yourself."

_Wham! _In a sudden burst of fury, Mercer slammed a scalpel right next to me, making me jump and close my eyes a little bit. My heart began to race again, but I took some deep breaths to calm myself down.

"Ow!" I cried as I felt the crazed doctor in front of me grab a fistful of my hair and yank me up from a lying position, "Watch it!"

"I think I'm ready to begin with you," Mercer growled, tightening his grip for a second before letting go of me and forcing me to lie down. About-facing fast, he began collecting all sorts of equipment from the table: blades, scalpels, cotton swabs, etc.

"What were those symbols on the wall?" I asked, remembering the horrifying discovery in Mercer's office, "And the…parts? If you catch my drift."

Mercer raised his eyebrows in surprise for a minute. "You mean you're…one of _them_?" he asked.

I frowned. "One of what?" I questioned.

"A nonbeliever. And we cannot have any of those on this ship." I didn't say anything.

"Don't worry," Mercer assured me, approaching me with the scalpel in his hand, "I will make you believe."

"Stay away from me!" I warned as harshly as I could, wriggling to free myself, but failing as I felt two strong hands push me back down.

"Phase Two begins now," Mercer announced into a recorder, smiling at me and looking even crazier than ever. I closed my eyes and braced myself. I didn't know what was going to happen to me, but I didn't want to die.

"Don't worry," the doctor quipped, "You're in good hands now. The hands of Unitology!" _Unitology? _I asked myself as the nightmare began.

* * *

Pain. That was all I felt as I woke up four hours later. My arm was killing me, and I was having recurring nightmares of the last four hours. Dr. Mercer had hovered over me the whole time, slicing my upper arm rather painfully and inflicting pain on my stomach as well, using rather brutal instruments to cut me open like I was some frog that had to be dissected in Biology class. The whole time, he had recorded observations with my health as he did God knew what to my arm. As for me, I had tried to be a man about it. I was in pain, and I was nervous as hell, but I never screamed. I couldn't. I didn't want anyone to see I was afraid for my life. And now, I was sitting up on the same bench as before, trying to catch my breath and thinking of a possible escape plan. I no longer heard Phase One's screams, which made me fear the worst. Dr. Mercer wasn't there, but I was sure he was prowling around somewhere.

I sat up where I was as I blinked and looked around for a little bit, and since I was the only one in there, I decided I would try and look around a little bit. Two hours ago, an audio log had caught my attention, but Mercer had snatched it out of my hands before continuing with his work. Now that I was alone, maybe I could figure out what it said.

After spotting a stick on the counter next to me, I leaned over, grabbed it, and began prodding at the closest shelf where the audio log was. "Ouch," I hissed under my breath as my arm began hurting again, but I would worry about it later. For now, that audio log was my top priority.

"Come on," I muttered to myself as I continued to drag the recorder off the shelf, and once it was finally in my reach, I rushed to catch it before it hit the ground. _Jackpot, _I thought, allowing myself a small smile. With my good hand, I pressed the Play button and listened as Mercer's voice poured out from the speaker.

"_I finally convinced Jurgens to show me the video feed from the colony," _he had recorded God knew how long ago,_ "And what I saw was glorious. Breathtaking. Miners undergoing a transformation into something extraordinary. I must know more. Even as the believer within me wants to become one of them, the scientist needs to uncover their secrets. I need to study one of these... Necromorphs, as Kyne so clinically puts it. I need to witness this infection first hand. Perhaps that patient from the colony..._" The audio log ended there. _Is this guy on crack? _I asked myself, _What the hell is he talking about? And what's a Necromorph?_

_Clank! _What was that? Was it Dr. Mercer coming back to regale me with more of his nonsensical ramblings? I wasn't sure, so I grabbed a large knife and quickly stashed the audio log, just in case. During the past horrific four hours, I had been forced to listen to one thing or another about this "Unitology" that he had referred to earlier. And from what he had said, it sounded like some crazy religious cult that did not sound appealing at all. "Unitology is the key," he had said over and over again while I was biting my tongue in order to keep from screaming. I was still naked and in a cold sweat after what I had been through earlier, and I just wanted to get the hell out of there.

Another _clank _echoed in the darkness, followed by a frantic voice. "Oh, no," it echoed through the eerie red lights, "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no!"

Releasing myself from my constraints, I slowly sat up, leaping down from the lab table and tiptoeing towards the closed door. I reached out cautiously, opening the door slightly to see a man in a white lab coat pacing back and forth, muttering "No" under his breath.

"No, no, no, no, no!" he snapped again as I looked around quickly before exiting my designated side room.

"Hey, man," I greeted, reaching a hand out, "Are you okay?"

"No!" the mad man fumed, "I must speak with Challus about something. Have you seen him?"

My heart pounded at the sound of Mercer's first name. "I haven't," I said, "He just left me in here a little while ago."

"Oh, great! I hope he isn't going off to preach more! He promised me he would be here!" He then faced me, his eyes lighting up.

"Maybe you can help me," he suggested, "I was supposed to analyze the Marker we brought onto the ship, but I just don't think it's a good idea anymore. There have been riots and mass murders down on the colony, and I fear they'll somehow make their way here." The Marker? What exactly was the Marker? Mercer had mentioned the name, but hadn't explained what it was. And what riots?

"Well, I've got some bad news for you," I reported, scoffing, "Something's already made it to this area. Something…alien. I saw it a while ago."

"Damn it," the man hissed under his breath, "That's what I thought. Just like on the colony. Matthius needs to know about this." He then glanced up at me as if he had just remembered I was standing right there.

"I'm Terrence Kyne, by the way," the research scientist introduced, shaking my hand vigorously, "Dr. Terrence Kyne."

"Timmy Stamford," I replied, returning the handshake, "How do I know I can trust you, after what I just went through?"

Dr. Kyne looked offended for a minute. "I've been a Unitologist for years," he explained, "But I have been questioning their beliefs as of late." I didn't say a word.

"We'll have to get you some clothes first, my boy," he said, looking me up and down, "Come with me and we'll get you situated."

"You mean you're going to help me bust out of here?" I asked with hope. Kyne nodded. _Aww, someone cares about me after all, _I thought to myself.

"But wait," I added, "What about Phase One?" I noticed how Kyne looked away for a minute, making me wonder if he had something to do with him dying.

"There's no time, my boy," he whispered, "We've got to reach Matthius. Come on, let's go!" I exhaled, feeling relieved that I was getting out of there, but still not trusting Terrence Kyne one hundred percent. He seemed just as insane as Mercer. _Oh, God, _I thought, _What have I gotten myself into? _

"Here," Kyne said, tossing me a suit similar to his, "This should do the trick." I studied the suit for a minute with fascination, taking in how advanced it looked. There were green bars on the spinal cord area, and it reminded me of the suits the astronauts used in space. Something told me I was going to need it, so I quickly slipped into the pressurized suit and accepted the helmet from Terrence.

"Thank you," I told him. _So I'm just like an astronaut now, _I thought, _The ladies at home will love this! _It felt good to be in clothes again, even if they weren't my own.

"Let's go," Kyne whispered, leading me out of the creepy office and back out into the dark hallways once again. Somehow, this all seemed less scary now that I wasn't alone, even though I had no idea what was going on.

"So," I began, holding the helmet by my side, "Remind me what we're doing again." I hoped he would explain to me what the Marker was.

"We're going to convince the others that bringing the Red Marker on board wasn't a good idea," Terrence explained, "I have seen it, and it is not what the other Unitologists believe it is. Not with all these murders taking place, and now with the infection spreading. God knows where else it is."

"Unitologists," I echoed under my breath, remembering that name that Mercer had also mentioned.

Kyne shook his head. "Don't tell me you're one, too," he said in an exasperated tone.

"N-no," I stammered, surprised, "I'm not." Even though I thought this whole situation was messed up, I still wanted to know what exactly was wrong with being a Unitologist, other than hearing Mercer go on and on about it.

"Good!" Kyne exclaimed, "Good, my boy. Because the beliefs in Unitology are becoming skewed. They don't know how dangerous the Marker is! Look what it's doing to the ship! To the people on it and the colony! That's why we need to reach the Marker, but first, we need to see Matthius." _All right, this guy is a bit crazy, _I decided, _But he saved me from Mercer. _I shook my head.

"I'll help you," I assured him. And maybe I would learn a few things along the way. I assumed whatever this Marker was was responsible for the monsters I encountered earlier. Kyne nodded, but he looked relieved from what I could see. We continued to move forward in a rush.

"So, what part of the ship is this?" I asked.

"The Medical Deck," Kyne answered, "How did someone like you end up here, anyway?"

"I wish I knew," I mumbled under my breath, "Thanks for getting me out of there, by the way. I've been itching to bust out of there for a while."

"You look to be in good spirits. The first I've seen since…" He trailed off mysteriously, glancing down at his hands.

"Since what?" I pressed insistently. But Terrence Kyne refused to explain himself.

As we continued on our way, I had to bite my tongue yet again to keep from asking what the Red Marker was. I was waiting for him to answer, but that was when I realized that he probably expected me to know what all these terms were. Well, I _didn't_.

"Before we continue," Kyne piped up, "I just have to stop by my office."

"Yeah," was all I said as we turned into a side room. I didn't really care what he needed to do…at first.

This office was noticeably different from Dr. Mercer's. One, the strong scent was gone, and two, there weren't any body parts in here. I allowed myself to breathe an inaudible sigh of relief. In that moment, however, something caught my attention.

"Mr. Stamford," Kyne began from where he stood by some of his shelves, "Are you ready to go? I just had to get my Divet Pistol." I ignored him as I continued to stare at the file in question. Behind me, I could hear him click the pistol into place, but I didn't pay any attention to that either.

"Mr. Stamford?" he repeated, "Are you all right?"

"Who's Brant Harris?" I asked, tilting my head to the side as I read the cover page.

"Brant Harris?" Kyne echoed, "He was a patient from the colony under my watch. Can't say much more than that, I'm afraid. Patient confidentiality."

"A patient from the colony…" I whispered to myself.

"What was that?"

I gasped once something clicked in my mind about Brant Harris and that audio log. "_Fuck!_" I cursed out loud, slamming my fist down. _Brant Harris is Phase One! _I thought.

Kyne suddenly whipped his head around as a creaking noise ensued. "Come on," he suggested, pulling me along as we exited the office and emerged back in the hallway once again.

After that time period of running through silent hallways, we suddenly heard a door open up ahead, and Mercer appeared in the distance. "Oh, hell no," I whispered, "How did he find us?"

"I don't know," Kyne replied, "Get behind me." I slipped the helmet on over my head and moved behind him so that Mercer wouldn't see me.

"Terrence!" Mercer greeted, and my heart pounded in my chest again as I tightened my grip on Kyne's arms.

"Challus," Kyne repeated, "What a surprise to see you here." I gulped and closed my eyes in anticipation.

It seemed Mercer wasn't in the mood for small talk; he got to business right away. "What are you doing all the way over here at this hour?" he asked.

"I stopped by your office," Kyne replied smoothly, "But you weren't there. I was looking for you."

"I see," Mercer said, "About what?"

"You know what."

"Do you remember this conversation we had a while ago?" Mercer reached for a recorder and began to play a recorded conversation from a while back. In front of me, Kyne clenched his fists.

"_You found something down there, didn't you?_" Mercer's voice asked, initiating the conversation.

"_Yes, we found something._"

"_So, the texts were right all this time!_"

"_I wouldn't be certain of that. There was nothing divine in what I saw." _

_ "We must embrace this! We are the first witnesses!" _

_ "Matthius isn't letting anyone down on the colony! It's under quarantine until we learn more." _

_ "To hell with Matthius! He of all people should know that this is greater than him, or the operation, or even the company. This is our deliverance!" _

_ "Keep your damn voice down! People are dying down there!" _

_ "Only the worthless and the unbelievers. But I believe. Do you believe, Terrence? Do you?" _

I glanced up at Kyne, watching as he frowned but didn't comment. What could he say after that, I guessed? His own religion had been thrown in his face during that conversation. Mercer smirked to himself in victory as he opened his mouth again.

"You can come out from behind Terrence, Timothy," he said, addressing me, "I know you're there." I could feel Kyne tense up in front of me, so I did the same.

"Shit," I mumbled under my breath. My arm throbbed in pain once more as I slowly revealed myself and took off my helmet.

"Timothy," Mercer began, stretching his arms out in an embrace, "I'm glad Terrence kept you safe."

"Why?" I asked skeptically.

"I wouldn't want Phase Two to die before I continue with my work." He smiled and tilted his head to the side, but I could tell he was angry; I was watching his eyes the whole time. I remembered Allen telling me to watch people's eyes in any compromising situation. Oh, I wished I was back home right now! I clung onto Kyne's arm as I felt a chill go down my spine.

"You missed Phase One's transformation," Mercer continued, "It was a failure, but a transformation all the same. Why don't you come back with me and we can continue?"

"No!" I responded, remaining where I was by Kyne. I didn't give a damn about _how _stubborn I was being. No way in hell was I going back to that office.

"It will be painless. I promise."

"Fuck off! You've done enough to me as it is!" _And Brant Harris, _I added as a silent afterthought.

"Give him to me, Terrence! I'll take it from here!"

"And experiment on more of the crew? Are you insane?" Kyne piped up. So Kyne _was _aware of what was going on!

"I didn't think you would care," Mercer said to him, grinning and making me sick to the stomach, "Let's go, Phase Two."

"Listen, asshole!" I snapped, "Are you deaf? Did you not hear me the first time? I said _no_! N-O! Get the picture?" Mercer's eyes flashed dangerously, and he was just about to reply when something else interrupted him.

_RING! _Suddenly, red lights flashed all around us and alarms began to ring, and all three of us looked around in surprise. "Must be some sort of emergency!" I shouted over the din, and I moved away from Mercer in case I needed to make a run for it.

Dr. Kyne suddenly glanced up and gazed down the hallway, as if he were in a trance. "Amelia!" he cried as he shook me off and began running down the hallway.

"Dr. Kyne!" I cried. From behind me, I felt Mercer grab my other arm this time as he whipped me around to face him. He just smiled once again as he tried to lead me away to do God knew what else to me.

"Unitology is the key to your salvation," he whispered, "I'll save you." _What the fuck? _I thought to myself.

"No!" I snapped, stepping on his foot with my new boot and starting to make a run for it. He gave chase, and I felt him wrap his arms around me in order to slow me down.

"AHHHHHHH!" a shrill voice suddenly screamed, making me freeze where I was as I watched something appear from within a pod attached to the wall up ahead.

"Ahh, a Guardian," Mercer whispered with delight, "Looks like you can't go that way."

"Why not?" I demanded.

"You'll see. Watch." He moved his hand from my waist up to my cheek, forcing me to watch as someone ran down the hallway up ahead. From the looks of it, it was another crewmember of the ship we were on. In a flash, I watched as a large spear emerged from the Guardian and decapitated the man in one, clean shot. "OHHHHH!" the Guardian screamed as the body fell and soon became the monster's food.

"AHHHHH!" I screamed, wriggling to get out of Mercer's grasp, "What the fuck was that? What the hell is going on around here?"

"This is the future of our race, Timothy," Mercer answered, "And you will be a part of it very soon."

"No! I don't want to be a part of this! I'd rather die than become that…that _thing_!"

"If you run away now, you will die." And before I could contemplate on running away again, I felt Mercer hit me over the head with something metal (a stake, from the looks of it), and everything faded to black around me once again.

* * *

_**Two days later…**_

After being unconscious, I woke up again, but this time with the mother of all headaches. The back of my head was still throbbing with pain where Mercer had smacked me. I glanced at a calendar in the corner of the room and spotted the writing detailing when my part of the experiments began…two days ago! _He must've hit me really hard to knock me out for that long, _I thought as I rubbed the back of my head, which was extremely tender.

In the other corner was Mercer himself, who was somehow aware that I had finally regained consciousness. "You have a strong will," Mercer commented, turning around to face me now, "I respect that. But it won't help you now."

"That's what they all say," I muttered, wincing at the continuous discomfort.

"While you were unconscious," the crazed doctor began, "Captain Matthius met his end." My face betrayed nothing, seeing as how I didn't know him personally. He must have been an important character in this game.

"That's terrible," I whispered. On this ship, I wasn't sure I wanted to know how. If it was anything like I saw with the Guardian earlier, I was going to lose it.

"Yes, such a tragic loss," Mercer agreed, but his voice carried no emotion with it.

"_You_, however," he continued, "Are not getting away so easily this time. I put you in a capsule for two days, just like Phase One." He showed me a picture of two tubes in the Chemistry Lab. On the left was Brant Harris after he transformed, and on the right was me. I just frowned, not reacting to anything he was saying.

I watched as he removed a part of the suit that Kyne had given me in order to inspect my arm. Before he could cut my upper arm anymore, another alarm began to ring as a robotic, female voice echoed throughout the lab.

"_Warning_," it warned, "_Impact detected on Flight Deck. Warning. Impact detected on Flight Deck. Take precautionary actions._" Although we couldn't feel any sort of shaking due to the impact, I still suddenly got an idea.

"You know," I began slyly, "Maybe we should go check out whatever that was."

"No," Mercer replied, "I know what you're trying to do."

_Click! _Above us, the lights flickered and then shut off, leaving the two of us in the pitch black. And I realized that was my chance. Grabbing the scalpel next to me, I stuck it in Mercer's hand, and while he was distracted, I grabbed my helmet, jumped up from the table, and made a run for it with the doctor in hot pursuit. The two of us ran until we were back where that Guardian from before was. "AHHHH!" it shrieked upon noticing us.

"I told you before," Mercer said, catching up to me, "You're going to die."

"Then that's a risk I'm going to have to take." Elbowing Mercer in the side once more, I began to run towards the Guardian, which howled once more as I got closer to it. At the last minute, I ducked and rolled on the floor as I saw the spear out of the corner of my eye. I assumed that was why Mercer wasn't chasing after me, and I picked myself up and continued to run just as I heard his voice from behind me.

"Fine," he said as I turned to face him, "Run away now, Timothy. But I can assure you that you will not live very long without my guidance and care. I will find you again. I will make you believe what I believe. And others will die tonight because of you." I ran even faster at this point, slipping the helmet on over my head as I sprinted away from the scene behind me. The Guardian's moans faded with distance until I was surrounded by complete silence once again. Why did Dr. Kyne just leave me to Mercer like that? Could I trust him after that? Would there be anyone else like that on this godforsaken ship? I had to wonder: what did I do to deserve this hell? I just wanted to get out of here and see my brother again. Oh, God, Allen. He must have been worried about me.

_So, _I thought, _I'm in this survival horror videogame. I need to find a weapon of some sort. _Picking my way around the dark hallways, I tried to find something that remotely looked like a weapon. However, there was nothing in sight, and I was growing more restless. This type of stuff was not supposed to happen to _me_! I didn't do anything worth almost dying for.

_Groan! _Oh, great. Something else was lurking around here. Ducking into a side room, I began rummaging through some of the merchandise, seeing if I could find a weapon. In the process, I found something disturbing: a bifurcated human body. _Gross, _I thought to myself as I noticed the gun lying on the floor. Well, it was better than nothing, so I grabbed it and decided to carry it around with me. This was survival horror, after all, so guns were the best weapons. _That's right, _I thought triumphantly, smiling to myself, _I'm still the king of survival horror. _

Feeling a little more confident, I exited the room and made my way down the hallway again in an attempt to find Kyne, as well as ask him what the _hell _was up with his little betrayal stunt a while ago. The gun shook in my hands as I tiptoed in the darkness.

_Bam bam bam! _Something was trying to break through to where I was, so I closed my eyes once more and tried to calm my nerves as the beast finally crashed through the wall to my left. Roaring, it raised its two arms, which contained blades on them, and began slashing at me while it moved close to me. _A Slasher, _I decided to myself as I raised the gun and began to shoot it. "Take that, you slashing bastard!" I snarled, feeling victorious as it recoiled and shrieked a little bit.

However, my joy turned to horror as it recovered and bolted towards me again. "Shit!" I cried, shooting it again, but realizing that the bullets had no effect on the Slasher. Remembering _Resident Evil 4_, I tried shooting at its arms, only for that to have no effect as well. I pulled the trigger again, but to my horror, I ran out of bullets. "Damn it!" I cursed, staring at the gun and then the Slasher, who was still uninjured from my attacks.

"Oh, _crap_!" I exclaimed out loud, "Guns are useless in this game!" _What the hell? _I thought, _A survival horror game where I can't use guns? What is this? _

Tossing the gun aside, I ran around the snarling Slasher and down the hallway once again. Maybe Mercer was right. Maybe I wouldn't live very long after this. I needed to find Terrence Kyne. And fast. But where would I begin?


	3. Meeting the Unexpected

Next chapter is here! Thank you to everyone who has been reading so far! And I apologize for any OOC in this chapter. It's just my interpretation of things!

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy is mine. Everyone else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

**_Bold and Italics- _**Third-Person POV

* * *

There was no sign of life anywhere from what I saw, except for some distant screams and distress calls. Although my watch was wrong, I still checked the time and deduced that about three hours had gone by since I had run away from Mercer. Oh, God. Where was he now? Was he looking for me in another section of the ship? There was no time to think about it, though. I had to find Kyne.

In the past three hours, I had barely dodged all the monsters I encountered, and I had lost count of all the ones that were stalking me at this very moment, including Mercer. I jammed my way into a nearby elevator and stood silently as it ascended about a floor or two. Where would it take me?

_Ding ding! _The elevator door opened, dropping me off on a new floor entirely. I advanced cautiously, thinking about the events of the last two days or so. Here I was, running around an infected ship, and I was still defenseless. Wasn't I supposed to have a weapon at this point? Wasn't that how all survival horror games worked? I shouldn't have been struggling the way I was! That was when I remembered what Mercedes had said when I was buying the game: _You clearly know nothing about _Dead Space.

Well, she was right in that respect. But I wouldn't give her that satisfaction when I somehow returned home. I just wanted to find a weapon and restore my title as the king of survival horror. _Where are you, Dr. Kyne? _I thought, _I'm going to kill you if I find you for leaving me like that! _Well, no, I wasn't. But he was going to hear it from the Stamford man himself.

"From one floor to another," I muttered to myself, "What am I going to find here?"

_Boom! Boom! Boom! _My ears instantly pricked up in anticipation at the repeated explosions that sounded like gunshots, which were followed by an inhuman scream. _What was that? _I thought to myself, _Is someone going around killing these things? _Whoever it was, I was jealous of him or her. I decided to follow the sounds to see if maybe it was Kyne. Or at least someone who could help me. _Man, _I hated admitting when I needed help. The Stamford man _never _needed help before!

Suddenly, a shadow zoomed past me, making my heart stop, but my brain curious, so I decided to follow it. Hopefully, this would not lead me to my death.

Up ahead, someone was running, though I couldn't see who. They appeared to be wearing a suit similar to mine, and I could see that the bars on the spinal cord were yellow. _That doesn't look good, _I thought to myself. I couldn't hear anything, but I didn't want this person to see that I was following them, so I tried to be as quiet as possible.

Out of nowhere, the person began to wheeze, and just from the pitch of the voice, I could tell there was a man in that suit. I wanted to see what he was doing, and whether or not he could be trusted. He didn't look familiar to me at all.

It occurred to me that I had been following him for a while, and he didn't notice. I was hoping to keep it that way. At one point, he was just about to turn around in my general direction after healing himself and picking up some items when something clicked in the distance.

"_Hazardous anomaly detected_," a voice announced as more alarms began to ring and the lights shut off above us, leaving only eerie, yellow lights flashing in the darkness, "_Quarantine activated_." _Oh, shit, _I thought to myself, running and hiding in a secluded corner while the other man took cover in the middle of the room, his hands shaking in nervous anticipation. Why was he just standing there? Why not go and hide?

Up ahead, I heard a screeching noise, and then I spotted something running towards the brave man in the middle of the room. "Oh, shit!" I cursed out loud as one of the many enemies slashed at the man, but he didn't hear me because of the piercing alarms and the blasts from his…whatever weapon he was carrying that wasn't a gun. I looked around quickly to make sure that there weren't any of those same monsters where I was, but they seemed to be moving through vents all around the room. This went on for a couple of minutes, and strangely enough, even though I didn't know this guy, I wanted him to live. He seemed to be doing quite well, though, from my stance.

_Grrr! _Suddenly, something popped out of the vent that was right next to me. "AHH!" I screamed unintentionally, for I wasn't expecting anything to pop out at me. I felt the enemy-the Slasher-grab me with its blades and try to take a bite out of my neck. I spent the next minute trying to shake it off, but it was strong. _Oh, great, _I thought bitterly, _I'm going to freaking die here! Just my luck! _

Above me, I suddenly heard the rather loud noise of a military-style assault rifle as a bunch of rounds pierced the limbs of the Slasher that had grabbed me. With a screech, it let go of me and stumbled backwards before finally falling from the impact of the gun. It screeched one more time as it dropped some ammo. The whole time, I had kept my head down so as not to get hit myself, but I moved my hands away from my face as I looked up to see none other than the man I had been following this whole time. He was staring down at me as he crouched down and picked up the ammo next to me. I ran a gloved hand through my hair and sighed in relief. I was still alive. The Stamford Man still had a pulse!

"Thank you," I thanked the mysterious man as I stood up and began to look around. However, I soon found myself staring into the barrel of his assault rifle-style weapon.

"W-whoa!" I stammered, raising my hands into the air, "Hey! Relax, man! I'm not the enemy!" He didn't ease up on his gun, but he didn't say a word, either.

"I know what you're probably thinking," I continued as smoothly as possible, "Who am I? What am I doing here? Why was I following you? Right?" No reaction, but the gun remained where it was.

"Listen," I continued, "I hope you weren't thinking that I was trying to attack you or anything, because I wasn't. I was only following you because…" I trailed off there. Why did I have to explain myself to this man? I _didn't_!

"Whatever. I don't have to explain myself to _you_." He shook his head and then pointed at a cargo lift in the corner, indicating that he had to move on.

"You don't say much, do you?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Okay…can I at least know your name? I'll tell you mine. And why I was following you." It was hard to read his facial expressions, since he was still wearing his helmet.

He was already moving, though, moving the gun out of my face and making for the elevator in the corner. I decided to continue following him. No way was I going through this alone again. Not after being alone for the last few hours.

"Hey!" I call after him, "Hey! Wait up! You can't leave me here!" The man looked up from his other unconventional weapon, but once again, it was hard to tell what he was thinking. I climbed onto the elevator, and as he pushed the button to go downstairs, I took a deep breath.

"I've been _alone _for the last ten hours or so," I explained, "I'm tired of being defenseless." I could tell by the man's body language that he was probably thinking, _And I haven't? _

With a creaking noise, the cargo lift arrived at the floor down below, but as I took a few steps forward, I heard him mutter something so faint that I had to strain my ears to listen.

"Isaac," he mumbled. I turned to face him.

"What?" I asked.

"My name is Isaac. Isaac Clarke."

"Timmy Stamford," I introduced myself, shaking his hand, "It's nice to meet you, Isaac Clarke."

* * *

_**From his office in the Medical Deck, Dr. Challus Mercer paced back and forth as he stared at Phase One's failed form, which he now kept in a special container in the Chemistry lab. There would be others, he figured. Someone else would be a success. **_

_** Mercer was well aware of Isaac Clarke's presence on the ship; all he had heard about from some of the other crew members was how that engineer was coming to save all of them. As of now, he was going around, repairing the ship and killing all the Necromorphs he could. Something had to be done about this! Why was this lowly engineer killing the future of the human race? Mercer just couldn't understand! Nor could he understand Dr. Terrence Kyne's insistence that the Marker be returned to the colony below. **_

_** In a camera in the far corner of the room, Mercer could just make out Isaac now traveling back where he had come from in order to find a thermite bomb in order to gain access to another part of the Medical Deck, and with him was yet another familiar face. He instantly recognized the curly brown hair, the permanent smirk, and the haughty attitude about him. "Timothy," he whispered to himself, "So you found our friend, did you? Too bad." **_

_** That boy was one of the most irritating boys he had ever met. Where had he come from? Why didn't he want to embrace Unitology? Whatever his reasons were, Mercer figured that neither Timmy nor Isaac would live very long. He would make sure of it. **_

_** "Hey, Dr. Mercer?" a voice called from behind him, and the doctor turned to see another crew member, "What do you think of-" **_

_** Wham! Racing forward, Mercer dabbed a liquid into a handkerchief and covered the man's mouth with it, suffocating him until he fell unconscious. Once the crew member was down for the count, Mercer moved his body to the lab table that Timmy had occupied before. While he was unconscious, Mercer wiped his forehead clean, shaved his hair off, and drew a few dashed lines where he had done the shaving. **_

_** The doctor reached for his recorder and announced, "Personal log, Dr. Challus Mercer. So far, Phase One's transformation was a failure, and Phase Two…rebelled against his fate and ran off. I have decided to dub this next experiment: Phase Three…" **_

* * *

Traveling with Isaac Clarke wasn't too bad, from what I could see. He was plowing his way through this ship with no problem, and I couldn't help but feel jealous. The quarantine from before still hadn't been lifted, and I just stayed behind Isaac as he killed all the Slashers that were around. _How the hell is he doing that? _I thought incredulously to myself, _I tried shooting at them before and I failed miserably. _I had decided I wasn't going anywhere ever since I ran into Isaac. We needed to stick together, although I could tell he didn't fully trust me.

"Damn," Isaac muttered as he reloaded his weapon (which he had whispered was a Plasma Cutter) and the lights flickered back on with the end of the quarantine, "I hope there aren't any more Necromorphs around here. I've got to find the Captain's RIG."

"So _that's _what those enemies are called," I realized, remembering the audio log I had heard before. Isaac nodded.

"Could you at least tell me how you've been killing these…these Necromorphs?" I asked, feeling more and more foolish, "I tried shooting them with a gun, and it should have worked, but it didn't."

"That's because shooting them doesn't do anything. You have to dismember them." I didn't believe him at first.

"I don't believe that," I snorted.

Isaac stopped for a minute. "You don't?" he asked, "Watch next time we run into one of those things."

"Yeah, okay," I responded, though I wasn't sure why I didn't believe him. He had killed many more of the Necromorphs than I had, so who was I to question him? Oh, well. I never believed _anything _until I saw it. Or maybe I had seen it already.

"You're impossible," Isaac muttered, "Let's just carry on with this mission. I have someone I need to find." He began to go on without me, so I hurried to catch up with him to ensure that I wouldn't get left behind like I had with Dr. Kyne.

"If you don't mind me asking," I began, "Who?" I wondered if it was Kyne, just like I was trying to find him as well.

But what Isaac responded with next surprised me. "My girlfriend," was all he said, "Nicole." I didn't reply as I realized I was even more jealous of Isaac Clarke. So not only was he a total badass in this situation as far as the Necromorphs were concerned, but he had a girlfriend as well? Whereas I could never win anyone over like that. What the hell was he doing that I wasn't?

"Well, I hope you find her, then," I mumbled as we continued onward. Isaac ran around, collecting more items, before leading me through another door up ahead. As soon as we made it to the other side, we heard screaming.

"What the hell is that?" I whispered.

"I don't know," Isaac replied, "Stay close." Aiming his Plasma Cutter in front of him, he crept forward, and I didn't go anywhere. Instead, I looked around to make sure nothing was going to pop out at us.

"Let me out!" a voice cried in desperation, "Let me out!" We turned the corner and saw one of the crew members pounding on the glass window. He was looking out at us from inside the lab.

"Oh, thank God!" he sighed in relief, "Someone's here to help!"

"Are you okay?" Isaac asked, even though his voice was distorted due to his helmet.

"No!" the man replied, "I saw something lurking around in here before! Hurry! You've got to get me out of here!"

Isaac nodded at me, and I ran around to where the door was…only to see that it was locked. "Damn!" I cursed, "The door is locked!"

"No!" the frantic man on the other side yelled, "Come on! Let me out! NOOOO!" Suddenly, I didn't hear his voice anymore, and after a minute or so, the sound of a flat line echoed, and I closed my eyes, shook my head, and gritted my teeth. That was the second time someone had died in front of me, and I didn't think I would be able to handle myself anymore. I just wanted to go home! What was so God damn hard about that?

We then heard the clicking of the door unlocking, which made Isaac angry. "A little too late for that, huh?" he muttered as we crossed over into the lab itself. At first, there was silence, and then, a glass tank exploded up ahead, causing us to cover our eyes.

"Put your helmet on!" Isaac shouted at me, and I quickly slipped it over my head as the glass flew in our direction. As I did so, Isaac began firing his Plasma Cutter at the newest threat: a small…baby with tentacles? I watched carefully as he aimed his weapon at the tentacles only, severing the baby limb from limb. Once all the tentacles were cut off, it laid dead on the floor, and I took off my helmet yet again to glance at Isaac.

"Whoa," I gasped as he reloaded his Plasma Cutter.

I told you," Isaac quipped, wagging a finger at me, "You have to tear the Necromorphs apart to kill them."

"You don't say," I replied, "I'm sorry I didn't believe you." _This is a first, _I thought, _I never apologize if I doubt someone. _Isaac didn't say anything in response, for he was busy killing two more of those Necromorphs and jogging towards a room up ahead. Damn, he was always in a hurry! He was going to leave me in the dust if he didn't stop this. And nobody dared to leave _me _behind! Not even in the real world!

"Finally!" Isaac sighed, reaching for a capsule in the middle of the room.

"What's that?" I asked. Before Isaac could reply, we both suddenly heard a voice appear out of nowhere.

"_All right,_" it announced, "_That thermite you picked up should be able to melt through the barricade, use the shockpad to ignite it. Hope I can hold this position, I can hear something big moving out there_."

"Be careful, Hammond," Isaac replied, "Any word from Kendra?"

"_No, nothing so far. I don't know where she's gone! I was going to ask if you had heard from her, too. Oh, shit. I heard something even louder this time. Careful, Isaac._" The transmission ended, and the previously locked door next to us unlocked once again.

"Who was that?" I asked in an almost demanding voice. Almost.

"Zach Hammond," Isaac explained, "I arrived here with him and our computer specialist, Kendra Daniels, on the _USG Kellion._"

Something suddenly clicked for me. "In the Flight Deck?" I asked, testing him.

Even though he was wearing a helmet, I was sure he looked thunderstruck. "How did you know that?" he demanded.

I looked away for a minute, remembering my last few minutes with Mercer. Then, I scoffed. "Why should I tell you?" I retorted, "You had a fucking _assault rifle _pointed at me earlier! How do I know _you're _someone who can't be trusted? How do I know you're not trying to get us all killed? Case in point, that man back in the Baby Lab?"

Gripping said assault rifle (which he referred to as a Pulse Rifle), Isaac replied, "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it while you were being attacked. And that incident in the lab was out of our hands. There was nothing we could do."

I scoffed again. "Yeah, right," I muttered.

"Timmy," Isaac quipped, his voice coming out distorted from the helmet, "I know you're probably scared, but-"

"_Me? Scared?_" I interjected, chuckling a little bit, "You're funny, Isaac. Really, you should do stand-up comedy. I'm not afraid of anything here." That was a lie, but I could never admit that to Isaac, either.

That seemed to be the last straw for Isaac Clarke. Shaking his head, he raised his Plasma Cutter again and said, "I don't know about you, but I have to find the Captain's RIG. You can join me or not." I stayed put where I was. I wasn't going to follow along with someone who clearly had a chip on his shoulder. It wasn't my fault that he was going around and performing all these tasks.

"Fine," Isaac quipped, "I guess you've made your choice. Good luck." I still didn't say anything, but I saluted him like I was in the army.

"And another thing," Isaac added quickly, "You really need to work on your attitude." And before I could get another word in, he was gone through the door and on his way to Imaging Diagnostics.

"Whatever," I called after him, "I don't need you anyway. You'll see!" When everything went silent again, I turned around and decided to go back the way I came, since following Isaac was out of the question.

_Maybe that was out of line, _I thought to myself as I rode the elevator back to the top floor, _I shouldn't have snapped like that. _Oh, well. It was too late to take my words back now. And I didn't want to, anyway. The Stamford man never apologized for anything!

_Roar! _Oh, no. Not only was I alone again, but I realized at the last minute that I was still defenseless. At least with Isaac, I was somewhat safe. As soon as I made it back to the second floor, a Slasher popped out of one of the unopened vents.

"Shit!" I cursed as it slashed at me, leaving a nasty gash on my back. In a panic, I ran back to the elevator and pressed the button to go down. However, the Slasher decided to follow me and jumped onto the elevator. I felt it claw at me again, and I ended up beating the hell out of it until it was dead. Once it was down, I staggered off the cargo lift and collapsed to the ground.

"I-Isaac," I choked as I caught a glimpse of myself in a nearby mirror and saw that there was only one square on my spinal cord flashing red.


	4. Making Strides on the USG Ishimura

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy is mine. Everyone else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

_Italics- _Dream sequence, Audio/Video transmissions, and Isaac's POV

Yep, I've decided to write some parts of the story in Isaac's POV, just so that it's not all focused on Timmy!

_

* * *

_

_Shit, _I thought, picking myself up and staggering back towards the elevator, _Any more hits and I'm dead. _

The solution seemed simple, and my conscience was screaming at me: _Go find Isaac and apologize to him! _I snorted to myself. I wouldn't do that. I was too proud to admit that I needed him. A lot. Probably a lot more than he needed me. Besides, why would he want me tagging along with him, anyway?

I opened the door ahead of me once I made my way back to the second floor, but I soon found myself staring at the malfunctioning door up ahead. It was opening and closing in a quick motion, and I knew that with my health, I wouldn't be able to get back that way. _Not without Isaac,_ a voice in my head taunted. I waved away my worries. I would just find another way back.

After looking around, I spotted another door, though I wasn't sure where it would lead me. However, I noticed it was taking me back to the Baby Lab, and it dawned on me that I had no choice but to go back through that malfunctioning door. _I guess I'll have to risk it,_ I thought, _Even though Isaac was going that way already. _

Gulping, I marched towards the broken door and waited for an opportune moment to run through. As soon as the door slowly retracted into the wall, I dashed to the other side and sighed with relief once I made it through. Behind me, the door continued to malfunction, and I knew I wouldn't risk my life going back that way again. There were a few dead Necromorphs on the floor by the Stasis Recharge up ahead, and I figured Isaac had been this way. _Isaac, _I thought, _I hope he's okay. _

He would be fine. I was sure of it. _I _was the one that was in danger of dying. I didn't know what would happen to me, and I hoped I wouldn't run into Mercer again. What was he doing at this moment? I shook my head. I didn't want to think about it. I just wanted to find some healing supplies. I staggered onwards, coughing and wheezing as I clutched my stomach. Up ahead was a sign that said, "To Tram Station".

_Jackpot, _I thought as I made my way down that hallway. Somehow, I felt safe going this way. There didn't seem to be any Necromorphs around, and the only disturbing sight was a corpse of a woman on the floor. I closed my eyes and turned away, feeling sick to the stomach once more.

Next to the tram itself was a waiting station, so I decided to sit in there and try to regroup for a minute. Sitting down, I placed my helmet next to me and looked around. "Okay," I said out loud, "I've got to come up with a game plan. But what?" Following Isaac was out, but I still needed to avoid Mercer and find Kyne. But I had no idea where Kyne could have gone. _Who's Amelia? _I thought, remembering the name he had shouted before abandoning me.

Then it hit me: Mercer had said I wouldn't live very long on the _Ishimura._ Maybe he was right. I was nearly dying now. "Maybe…I should surrender myself," I thought out loud, "Let Mercer experiment on me." I sighed at the sad thought, but did I really have a choice? If it wasn't me strapped to that lab table, it would be someone else. And I didn't think I would ever forgive myself if someone died because of me.

Before I could think about it anymore, I suddenly felt tired, and pulling my feet up, I stretched myself out, resting my head next to my helmet, closing my eyes, and falling asleep.

* * *

_When I came to, I found myself walking down a dark hallway that looked like the one close to Mercer's office. "Hello?" I called out, "Is anyone there?" _

_"I'm here!" a familiar voice responded, and I looked up to see Isaac Clarke, standing in his suit and waving his Plasma Cutter at me. _

_"Isaac!" I cried, sprinting towards him in relief, "I'm so glad to see you! You don't know what it's been like for me for the last few hours!" _

_But when I got closer to Isaac, he laughed and said, "Careful, Timothy." _

_"Isaac?" I asked as the air around him suddenly changed until he changed into Challus Mercer. I stopped in my tracks as that maniac smiled at me and held up his metal stake. _

_"Mercer!" I shouted, backing up so that I could run as far away as possible. However, I felt myself collide with some Necromorphs behind me, who held me in place as Mercer advanced towards me, that creepy smile never going away. _

_"No!" I pleaded, struggling against the beasts that were restraining me, "No! Don't hurt me! Please!" _

_"You cannot fight your fate," Mercer repeated like he had when I had first met him, "No one can." I looked up in horror as he raised the metal stake and lowered it quickly. _

_"NOOO!" I cried as I felt the weapon enter my body through my forehead… _

_

* * *

_

"Fuck!" I cursed as I snapped my eyes open and woke up instantly, my heart racing and my nerves tingling. I took a few deep breaths to try and calm down as I cradled myself on the bench. It was just a dream. Just a horrible dream. A nightmare.

"Allen…" I choked, staring down at the floor and feeling a few tears prick my eyes. I missed him. I missed my whole family! I would have given anything just to see them again.

I thought about my nightmare and what it could have possibly meant. I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep for, but I knew I couldn't rest again. A while ago, I had considered surrendering to Mercer, but then I felt something snap inside of me: like some of Mercer's other victims that had been unfortunate, I didn't deserve to be cut open, either. I wasn't going to become one of his lab rats again. I had to stay alive. I had to see my family again.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps, and I tensed up, ready to strike. I glanced at myself in another mirror; the square was still flashing red, but I felt a little better. At least, enough to defend myself, anyway. However, the source of the footsteps was the last person I had expected.

"Timmy?"

I looked up and saw none other than Isaac Clarke, who was making his way over to the tram. He seemed just as surprised to see me here, too.

"_Isaac_?" I gasped, "What are you doing here?"

"I've found the Captain's RIG," Isaac explained, "I'm finished on this deck and I'm going to the Engineering Deck now. What are _you _doing here?"

I paused for a minute. "I was attacked by a Slasher," I explained, "Shortly after you left. I had barely any health left, so I decided this was the only safe place to rest." I tucked my knees into my chest. As Isaac looked away, I realized what I had to do, even if it killed me.

"Isaac," I began, "I'm sorry for what I said before. I lied earlier. I'm fucking _terrified_! I'm scared of what's going to happen to this ship, to me, to you, to everyone! There, I said it!" I refused to explain myself further. Isaac was probably floored at this point, though I wouldn't be able to tell. I looked away as I felt tears begin to roll down my cheeks. I didn't want Isaac to see me cry. It was too embarrassing.

The wind changed, and I suddenly saw Isaac stand over me. "Look," he commented, "We're all scared here. But what's important now is that we work together. Understand?"

Wiping my eyes with my gloved hand, I glanced up at the man next to me as he waited for me to respond. Feeling a lump form in my throat, I nodded and smiled weakly. "Okay," I choked, reaching up to shake his hand. I got up from the bench and followed him to the tram, where he selected the Engineering Deck and began to carry us that way. Along the way, I decided to try to get to know Isaac Clarke a little bit to make up for how much of an ass I was to him earlier.

"So how did you end up here?" I asked as the tram sped towards the Engineering Deck.

"I'm a systems engineer for the C.E.C," Isaac explained, rotating his Plasma Cutter in his hands, "Are you familiar with them?"

I shook my head. I realized there was still so much about this game that I didn't know.

"The Concordance Extraction Corporation," Isaac filled in for me.

"Ahh," I replied, nodding as if I understood, "So what does the C.E.C. do?"

"Deep spacing mining," Isaac answered, "They're responsible for building the _USG Ishimura _and the _USG Kellion._" He didn't go into any more details from there, so I figured the rest was classified information.

"I told you that," Isaac added, "Now you have to tell me how you knew that was us on the Flight Deck."

Now that I wasn't feeling as scared as before, I decided to explain myself. "I was on the Medical Deck ever since I woke up in this hell. Now, before you ask how I got here, I don't know. Plain and simple. I was…barricading myself in a room when I heard an announcement that there had been an impact on the Flight Deck. And when you mentioned you had arrived on the _USG Kellion, _I made the connection." Okay, so some parts of my story weren't true, but I told him the basics for the most part.

The tram slowed down to a stop just as a voice announced, "_Welcome to the Engineering Deck_."

"Engineering Deck," I echoed under my breath, "This is your place, Isaac." Grinning a little bit, I punched him in the shoulder. We were interrupted when Isaac suddenly received another video log from a man on the other side, who I assumed was Zach Hammond, judging by the voice.

"_Isaac,_" Hammond began, "_We've got two problems, and we're working on borrowed time! First, there's no fuel in the engines. Second, the gravity centrifuge is offline, which means there's a couple of trillion tons of rock pulling us down. I need you to get that centrifuge operational, refuel the main engine, and fire it up so I can stabilize the ship's orbit._"

"That seems like a lot for just one person to do," I commented before I could stop myself.

Hammond turned to face me. "_I almost didn't see you there,_" he commented, "_Who are you?_"

Isaac stepped in after face-palming himself. "Hammond, this is Timmy," he explained, "I found him on the Medical Deck."

"_I see,_" Hammond responded, "_Well, Timmy, I hope you understand how serious our situation is. No goofing around while Isaac is trying to work. Understand?_"

"Yeah, of course," I assured him, waving him off nonchalantly, "You and Isaac can trust me." Hammond still looked unsure.

"Don't worry about it, Hammond," Isaac jumped in, "He'll be fine."

"_All right,_" Hammond said, "_I trust you, Isaac. Good luck._" And with that, he hung up.

"Touchy," I whispered as Isaac led me through this next hallway.

"He just wants to make sure the _Ishimura _is fixed," Isaac said, defending his colleague.

"Take a look at this face," I said, pointing to myself, "Does this look like the face of a class clown?"

As we entered a large opening, Isaac turned to look at me for a minute. "I hate to break it to you, but it does," he answered, shrugging as I face-palmed myself.

"Why doesn't anyone take me seriously?" I asked rhetorically as we stopped at a store. Isaac motioned to me as he stepped inside the small booth.

"I want to stop here for a little bit," he told me, "Keep a lookout for any Necromorphs." I saluted the engineer and kept watch while he took care of business.

I glanced over for a minute to see him selecting some Pulse Rounds to buy when I decided to ask the million dollar question. "Would it be possible if I could borrow one of your weapons, please?" I asked, "I've been defenseless for too long now."

"I don't know," the engineer began, "Will you be all right with it? You don't look like you have any experience with these types of weapons."

"I'll be fine. The Stamford man is _always _fine," I assured him, though I wasn't so sure in this situation. This game wasn't like any other survival horror game I've played.

"Well, I have the flamethrower," Isaac said, handing it to me and watching as I strapped part of it over my back.

"Thank you, Isaac," I thanked him.

"Be careful with it, though. It's useless in a vacuum."

"Oh, _that's _reassuring."

"I'm just telling you the facts, Timmy. If we're going to survive this, we need to work together."

I hesitated in replying. I knew Isaac was right, but I wouldn't give him that satisfaction yet. "Right," I said, moving on with my new flamethrower that I had no idea how to use. I held it out in front of me, just waiting for some Necromorph to come busting into the room.

"You should probably practice using that before we move on," Isaac suggested, "Here. I just bought fuel for the flamethrower." He handed it to me, and I held the weapon out again, pulling a trigger and watching as a hot flame appeared on the tip. The flamethrower shook in my hands.

"Damn!" I cursed as I released the trigger and watched as a line of flames shot out and exploded on the opposite wall.

"That was the alternate firing mode," Isaac explained, "Here, try this." He moved my hand to another trigger and then went back to finishing at the store.

When I pulled the trigger this time, flames shot out just like during one of the boss fights from _Resident Evil 5_. "That's more like it," I muttered to myself, "Now if I can practice it on a Necromorph." _Or Mercer, _I added silently to myself.

"Timmy?" Isaac asked from the Store.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"I'm going to change suits now. Can you continue watching out for enemies?"

"Okay, sure," I replied, "Go for it." Isaac nodded and stepped into a room in the back, and the Store closed in front of him. I saw a white beam of light travel up and down the small crack in the door, and I wondered what would happen after this.

With a hiss, the Store reopened, and Isaac stepped out in what he called a "Level Two Suit". "Wow," I gasped, "That is badass!" Isaac inspected himself for a minute before moving towards something on the floor.

"Another audio log," he mused, "I've been finding these all over the place."

"Anything interesting?" I asked, slipping my helmet on so that it would be easier to carry the flamethrower.

"So far, yes. Let's see what this one says." He picked it up and began to play the message.

"_Personal log...acting Chief Engineer Jacob Temple_," the man on the other end reported, "_It's been two days since they pulled the planet open, since the Captain died. The panic, the riots...They were nothing compared with what came after. Our friends, our co-workers started coming back...changed...coming back to kill us, drag us away. Rucker disappeared this morning, and I have to assume he's dead. My crew...they're starting to crack. I'm trying to keep an eye on them, but right now I have bigger problems. We're hemorrhaging fuel, and the primary engine is laboring. Danvers and I are going to try to reach the fuel depot to see if we can fix it. Temple out._" We remained silent for a minute.

"Well, that sucks," I commented, "Do you know this guy, Isaac?"

"His name is familiar," Isaac replied, "Come on! We've got no time to lose!" We hurried through a door in the corner to begin refueling the engines.

* * *

_Wow, was this a huge turn of events or what? _

_When I had first arrived on the _USGIshimura _with Kendra and Hammond, I hadn't expected to pick up any survivors who weren't already doomed. I wished I could have been able to help those I had run into already, but Hammond and Kendra needed me to complete these jobs that they couldn't reach so that we could save as many people as possible. As of now, Kendra was missing. God knew what was happening to her. She and Hammond clearly didn't trust each other, and I didn't know why. Whatever the reason was, they were leaving me out of the group. Still, I wanted Kendra to pull through. I wanted her to stay alive. _

_And Nicole. God, Nicole. I hoped she was all right. She sounded desperate in her distress call. I had to make sure nothing happened to her. Hammond promised me he would help me find her, so I was thankful for that. _

_"Hey, check this out!" I heard Timmy Stamford call to me. I looked up to see him pointing at a gondola in front of him. _

_Oh, yeah, Timmy. With my thoughts of Nicole, I had almost forgotten he was tagging along with me as I repaired this ship. I had to admit I wasn't completely sure about him; he had shown me that he had a huge ego when I ran into him on the Medical Deck, and he seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. What was he doing before he met me? I didn't know what it was, but I was getting the feeling he wasn't being completely honest about how he knew I had arrived here. Maybe he would tell me, maybe he wouldn't. But I wanted to know. _

_After I finished pulling down the first lever that would refuel the engines, I followed the sound of Timmy's voice until I saw him looking at the gondola. "I guess the other one's on the other side," I figured, "Let's go." After using Kinesis to pull the gondola towards us, we got on, pushed a button, and began making our way across the abyss. _

_"It's quiet," Timmy whispered, "Too quiet." He held out the flamethrower in front of him while I readied my new Line Gun. _

_"Wait for it," I told him, and he gulped. When the gondola jolted to a stop, we found ourselves being greeted by a bunch of Necromorphs, who didn't hesitate to attack. I immediately began firing my Line Gun while Timmy clumsily burned them with the flamethrower. Nevertheless, it was a good defensive attack, and once they were all dead, we picked up the ammo they had left behind. _

_As we continued on our way, Timmy picked up another audio log, which we stopped to listen to. "_Never should have let him live. Never should have let him live," _a frantic voice repeated over and over again. _

"Shut it, Danvers!" _Jacob Temple snapped in response, _"Shut...it! Engineering log, Temple reporting. Someone has shut off the fuel lines to the primary engine, and damaged the valves in the process. They need to be repaired before I can re-open them, but we're running out of time. With the engine offline, orbit decay will begin in less than ten hours. I just can't understand who would do this. If it's one of those crazy Unitologist bastards, I'll break their neck!" _I wasn't sure about all that, but I could see that Temple felt the same way I did about that religion. _

_"_Henderson said they were coming. We never should have let him live," _Danvers repeated. _

_"_Shut up, Danvers, and help me with the tools. Temple out."_ The recording ended. _

_"Sheesh," Timmy commented after we killed more Necromorphs and finished refueling the engines, "It sounds like someone doesn't like Unitology." _

_I just stared at him. "Unitology," I echoed as we made our way back to the gondola, "Where do I begin with Unitology?" _

_"You don't like them either, do you?" _

_I shook my head. "Nope," I answered, "I never have, and I never will." _

_Timmy widened his eyes. "How come?" he asked. _

_I shook my head again. "It's not important right now," I told him, "But trust me, everything they believe in is all bullshit." He seemed to understand, though how, I didn't know. We didn't speak about it for the rest of our time on this deck. _

_

* * *

_

If there was one thing I learned on the _USG Ishimura _so far, it was that we had to do everything according to plan and quickly. Isaac wasted no time in refueling the engines, so I had to hurry to keep up. Not that that was difficult for me, of course.

During our time in the Refueling Chamber, I was surprised to hear Isaac speak so strongly against Unitology. Granted, it wasn't my favorite cult, either, after what I went through with Mercer, but I never blatantly stated I didn't like them. The Unitologists must have done something personal to Isaac. I hoped he would trust me enough to tell me what happened.

"This way," Isaac whispered, walking over to an elevator in a small corridor, so I followed him. We silently rode the elevator up to the next floor, where after making a few turns, we arrived at a decontamination room.

"Wait here," he commanded.

"Are you sure about this, man?" I asked.

"I'm sure. Just wait here. I'll be right out."

"Careful." Isaac nodded, and I watched as he went inside, refilled his health and Stasis using one of the Stasis packs, and pressed a button on a panel in the middle. From my place outside, the lights shut off and began to flicker as a bunch of enemies swarmed into the room.

"Oh my God!" I cried as two Slashers and a Leaper popped out of the vent, and I was forced to watch as Isaac battled them alone. _Damn it, _I thought, _Why couldn't he let me go in the room, too? _

Luckily, there were only three of them, so once he was finished killing them, he exited the room, motioned to me, and I followed him to the next section that his locator was directing him towards. He made a sudden turn into a passageway that read, "TO CENTRIFUGE". _All right, _I thought, _Here goes nothing. _

The circular doors up ahead hissed and squealed before opening and allowing us to pass through. The other one actually leading to the centrifuge itself opened as a similar voice from the elevator announced, "_Entering Zero Gravity_."

_Oh, no, _I thought, _I haven't had any type of training with a zero-gravity environment! What am I going to do? _

"Whoa," I gasped, suddenly feeling weightless, "I've never been in a zero-g environment before!" I watched as everything that wasn't resting on the ground floated, and I wondered if Isaac had encountered anything like this yet.

After he was finished killing two Leapers (whose corpses were now floating in mid air), Isaac turned to me and explained, "It's pretty simple. All you have to do is point your weapon at the place you want to jump, and then jump." I narrowed my eyes; he obviously had been in zero-g before. While I was stumbling and getting used to the weightlessness, he was just calm and collected.

"Lead the way, Astro Man," I teased, gesturing to the floor, where two modules were situated and spinning rapidly. I watched as Isaac pointed his Plasma Cutter at a spot on the floor and then jumped. I suppressed a grin, for he reminded me of Superman when he glided to the floor.

"See?" Isaac called up to me.

"Heh," I scoffed, "I could have done that easily! Just watch!" I carefully pointed my flamethrower at the floor and jumped.

"W-whoa!" I gasped again, feeling like I was just going to fly off into the air, so I flailed my arms desperately.

"Isaac!" I shouted, "Help!"

Shaking his head, Isaac jogged over to me, took my hands, and helped me gently float down to the ground. "Don't get cocky," he warned. I rolled my eyes and moved forward with him while he worked on attaching the first generator module. Using Stasis and Kinesis, he managed to accomplish this. "_Generator module attached,_" a voice announced, and in that moment, a Leaper appeared out of nowhere and began to attack.

"Timmy!" Isaac cried.

"I've got it!" I replied as he went to attach the second generator module. I was still clumsy with the flamethrower, but a little better than I was earlier.

"_Generator module attached. Centrifuge power restored._"

"Come on!" Isaac said, "The switch is over there. We'll have to jump."

"Oh, _Lord_," I petitioned, "I'll never get used to this." Isaac jumped first, and I awkwardly followed suit, landing by the switch and feeling slightly lightheaded as Isaac took a deep breath and pressed the switch in front of us.

Suddenly, I felt much heavier again, like I was going to just fall right through the floor, and I noticed everything that was floating fell to the floor with a crash. "_Centrifuge activated,_" a voice announced, "_Reestablishing balance with planetary cargo. Gravity restored. Entering vacuum_."

That was when it happened. I suddenly began to feel a light sensation in my head. _Oh, shit! _I cursed to myself, _A vacuum? I haven't had training with this, either! _Everything went silent around me, and I was thankful for the suit Dr. Kyne had given me. I was also glad I had decided to put the helmet on.

Isaac motioned to me, since verbal communication was not an option, and I followed him to a cargo lift in the corner, my legs feeling heavy. Going back and forth between zero-gravity and gravity was going to take some getting used to, especially since I hadn't been previously trained.

The large centrifuge in the middle of the room was spinning now, and I froze where I was. How were we supposed to get past it?

The large contraption spun around once, and Isaac ran ahead and ducked into an alcove as the centrifuge went spinning by him again, and I realized that was the trick. However, I had wasted so much time trying to time my runs that I didn't realize the timer on my back was rapidly counting down. I began to gasp. I needed oxygen. And fast!

Once the centrifuge passed me, I ran to the next alcove and was forced to wait as the centrifuge spun again. I must have waited too long for a second time, because as I was running towards the next alcove, I could see the large contraption flying towards me. I froze in fear and felt more and more oxygen-deprived. Oh, God. This would be my death bed. I couldn't cry out for help, either, which was worse.

Out of nowhere, I felt Isaac grab me and pull me into the alcove in the nick of time as the centrifuge made its way around the circle again. Feeling very faint now, I looked up to see that he was refilling up his oxygen levels and passed some to me as well. I breathed it in, feeling more like myself again as I stopped wheezing. On the floor was a Necromorph, which he must have killed while hiding here and waiting for me. I nodded in gratitude, and he gestured for me to follow him again once the centrifuge passed by us another time. We ran as fast as we could, but spotted another Necromorph trying to take our hiding spot.

Isaac immediately began to open fire, and it was awkward not being able to hear the usual blasts from his Pulse Rifle. Instead, no matter how loud some objects were, it all sounded the same: silent.

Out of habit, I tried torching it with the flamethrower, only for there to be no effect. _Shit, that's right, _I thought as I began to feel lightheaded again, _We're still in a vacuum. No oxygen! _That was what Isaac had said when he had first given me this weapon.

I felt Isaac tap on my shoulder, and after we finished waiting for the centrifuge, we cleared the last path to the next elevator, where we were well out of harm's way. However, Isaac was starting to gasp for air more insistently. Luckily, we were finished with this room, and once we made it back to the hallway we had come through, a voice announced, "_Exiting vacuum._"

"Whew," I sighed as the sound returned, "That was a close call."

"You've got that right," Isaac agreed as he programmed something into the Save Station next to us.

"First, zero-g, and then a vacuum," I wheezed as we made our way through the next door, "I don't think I can do this. I'm not used to these changes in the environment."

_Roar! _From up ahead, a tentacle suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Isaac, and slammed him into the ground. "Look out!" I cried, racing forward to try and figure out a way to help him. But there was nothing I could do. The tentacle was slowly dragging him away.

Taking out one of his unconventional weapons, Isaac shot at the pulsing yellow pod on the tentacle a few times until it let go of him. Feeling shaken, I walked over to him as he stood up and recovered himself.

"Are you okay?" I asked, resting a gloved hand on his shoulder. He nodded and reloaded his Plasma Cutter.

"That…was scary," I choked, wondering what else Isaac and I would witness on the _USG Ishimura. _


	5. Yelling is Not an Option

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy is mine. Everyone else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

_Italics- _Audio/Video Transmissions

* * *

"I didn't bargain for this," I mumbled to myself as Isaac killed another Slasher-an Enhanced Slasher this time- and picked up the Line Gun ammo it dropped.

"None of us did," Isaac replied, pressing the button so that the elevator door could open. While we waited, I took a deep breath. I must have been annoying him with my constant complaining, but really? You try getting thrown into a game against your will. Then one would know how I felt at this moment. Then again, wasn't that what had essentially happened to Isaac, too? Oh, well.

As soon as we were riding the elevator back down to the floor below us, we received another transmission, this time from a woman. "_Isaac? Can you hear me?_" she began, _"It's Kendra. They attacked me! I ran for it and Hammond just…he just disappeared!_"

"Kendra!" Isaac cried in a happy surprise, "Thank God you're all right! We were worried about you!"

"_I'm okay now._" She smiled at Isaac and then turned to face me.

"_Who are you_?" she asked.

Boy, she was hot! I decided to turn on the charm. For a little while, anyway. "The name's Stamford," I introduced myself, "Timmy Stamford. But you can call me Muscles if you want." I held up my uninjured arm and felt the muscles in it for emphasis.

The look on Kendra's face could clearly show she was thinking, _What the fuck? _Next to me, Isaac sighed and shook his head."_Uhh, no,_" Kendra replied, "_I don't know who you think you are, but you need to cut that out. We're in a crisis right now!_"

"I'm aware," I muttered to myself. _Damn, _I thought, _Shot down by a videogame character! What the hell is this world coming to?_

"That's what Hammond tried telling him," Isaac added.

"_Kendra! Where are you?_" we both heard Hammond suddenly demand from his end.

I wasn't sure if it was just me, but it looked like Kendra had an annoyed expression on her face, and her tone of voice changed as well. "_Nice to see you're alive and well, Hammond,_" she said to him,_ "I've barricaded myself in the computer core. I can hear them moving outside. But I don't think they know I'm in here. I can log into everything from here! I hacked the root, and found some reports from the colony. Even before they cracked the planet, the colonists were experiencing widespread dementia. It seems to be related to some artifact they found on the planet. Something called 'the Marker.' I'll keep looking. I've got your location, and I'm going to unlock the door to Fuel Storage. You can get to the engine chamber from there._" The Marker!

"All right," Isaac replied, "Thanks, Kendra. It's good to have you back!"

"_I'm glad to still be in one piece,_" Kendra agreed, "_Good luck._" She faced me again.

"_And Timmy,_" she added, "_Don't give Isaac a hard time, all right?_"

"Anything for you, babe," I replied, giving her the thumbs-up. She rolled her eyes and went offline.

"You really shouldn't do that," Isaac lectured as we stopped at the Save Station again, "I have to work with both of them."

For some reason, in that moment, I didn't feel like myself. I actually felt embarrassed. "Sorry," I apologized, "You must be sick of me by now."

"I know I'm sick of your cavalier attitude towards our situation. Maybe Hammond was right about you."

_No! _I thought fiercely, _We're not going through this again! _"Look, I'm sorry," I sighed, "It's just how I deal with things like this."

"By disrespecting Kendra?" He was probably raising his eyebrows in skepticism.

"No," I answered, "Just trying to cast aside my fears. I've always dealt with my fear this way." That was about as honest as I could get.

"Why don't you try finding a better way to cope?" Isaac suggested, "Like taking a few deep breaths if you really feel nervous?"

I considered it as we made our way over to a circular door down another path. "I never tried that," I admitted, "I've never been so scared in my whole life."

"It's what I've been doing here. Until I find Nicole."

I was about to say something about his missing girlfriend when the doors opened in front of us. Suddenly, a voice announced, "_Entering zero gravity. Entering vacuum._"

"Oh, not again!" I cried, but Isaac couldn't hear me as soon as we made our way outside. There were two Necromorphs lurking around out here, and I wasn't sure how they were able to survive in a vacuum. I watched as Isaac aimed his Plasma Cutter at a particular spot and jumped, and I did the same thing with my useless flamethrower. _Whoa! _I thought, feeling weightless as we landed gently on the platform down below. How the hell did Isaac know what he was doing? I hadn't had any sort of training with these environments, and I felt like I was just going to randomly fly off into space, yet here he was, taking on zero-g and a vacuum like a professional. I was still a little jealous of him, though he had no idea. I was still too proud to admit it to him.

As we reentered the ship on the other side, both gravity and oxygen returned, and I took a deep breath. "Anyway, before we got interrupted by the dark bowels of the vacuum," I continued, "Where do you think Nicole is?"

"I don't know," Isaac replied as we moved through the dark hallways and took out some more Necromorphs, "I thought she might have been on the Medical Deck, since she's a medical officer, but I guess not. She could be anywhere." He sighed wistfully.

"Don't worry," I assured him, patting his shoulder, "We'll find her. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see you."

We headed towards a lift in the far corner of the room after refilling up on health before moving on. After arriving on the second floor, Isaac took out a few more monsters before running around and collecting supplies, and after that, we rode another elevator down to the next level. I just waited by the exit door as he made his rounds and recharged his Stasis Module.

"Hey, Isaac?" I called out to him, "This door says you need a Power Node." Isaac didn't even seem fazed by this problem; reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a Power Node and inserted it into the slot next to the door. I watched in fascination as the door unlocked itself and we moved onward. Inside the room was a ton of supplies, and we both went all out there trying to collect everything. I silently handed over some Plasma Energy and Pulse Rounds to Isaac, and he passed some flamethrower fuel to me.

Up ahead, a Slasher was making its way towards us, but not before the door in front of us slammed shut and tore the monster's body apart. It was dead instantly after that. "Whoa," I gasped, watching as the door continued to open and shut in the same, quick fashion, "Why do all the doors have to be so lethal around here?" How were we supposed to pass through without having to time ourselves? At least, like I had to time myself back on the Medical Deck?

But Isaac Clarke seemed to have all the answers already. Pulling out his Stasis Module, he released a blue bolt of energy just as the door opened again and slowed it down immensely. "Wow," I whispered.

"Go!" Isaac ordered, pushing me forward, "We don't have a lot of time before the Stasis wears off!"

"Right!" I ran through the door to the other side, with Isaac following close behind me.

"That was so cool!" I exclaimed, "Where'd you get those weapons?"

"I found them scattered around the ship," Isaac explained, "I had to make use of what I could to defend myself." I nodded. I respected that. That was what I had been trying to do to no avail.

As soon as we made our way to the next room, we heard the familiar growling of the Necromorphs, and as usual, a bunch of Slashers popped out in order to attack us. However, there was a new enemy we had never seen before. It had a large belly and claws similar to the Slashers. Since Isaac was busy with the Slashers, I decided to go after this new Necromorph.

I began to torch its arms and legs off, but then I ended up hitting the belly. _Screech! _I backed up as the monster itself died, but something crawled out of the belly in its place. "Ahh!" I cried, "What the hell?" Some of them began to latch on to me and try and chew away at my skin, like some type of leech.

"Get off me!" I cried, shaking myself as vigorously as I could and throwing them off. Next to me, Isaac was healing himself and collecting items as I recovered as well. Using a small med pack on myself, I refueled my flamethrower and looked around a little more. _Rule number one, _I thought, _Don't hit those particular Necromorphs in the belly._

"_Ignition sequence initiated,_" a robotic voice echoed, "_Please stand by._"

"Timmy!" Isaac shouted, "Over here!" I glanced over and saw how the engineer had taken refuge in the corner of the room. I followed him, holding out my flamethrower. If I knew this game as well as I thought I did, I figured some sort of ambush would happen. It always did.

Sure enough, a swarm of enemies attacked, and Isaac unleashed his Plasma Cutter on all of them, which proved to be even more powerful after he had upgraded it at the Bench a few times. My little flamethrower couldn't compare, but it was still effective, burning whatever Necromorphs Isaac had looked over. I had to admit that we were working pretty well together right now. Maybe we could work out our differences. At least, I could work mine out.

"_Engines ready. Please confirm ignition._" Once the last Necromorph was dead, Isaac confirmed the ignition and successfully turned the engines back on.

"_Engines firing._" Once they were up and running, I turned to Isaac.

"How did this huge ship just run out of fuel?" I asked, "I find _that _hard to believe."

"That's what I want to know," Isaac replied, "Let's get out of here." He led me out of the main engine room and back out into the hallway where we had just come from. Out of nowhere, Hammond popped up again.

"_It's working!_" he exclaimed in relief,_ "We're online and functional! Finally some good news. Get a tram to the Bridge, Isaac. I'm going to take us back into a geostationary orbit_."

"We did it!" I added, and Hammond gave me an appreciative look.

However, Kendra appeared next, and she looked distressed. "_Wait, wait! We're not safe yet_," she informed us, "_The ship's asteroid defense system is offline. On the way up, the ship's going to pass through a debris field thrown up from the Planet Crack. We'll be ripped to pieces unless you restart it_."

"Well, damn," I commented, "I've never heard of a ship that needed _this _many repair jobs." Isaac shrugged, and Kendra faced me.

"_It happens sometimes,_" she told me in a short tone, apparently still feeling annoyed with me about earlier, "_But we'll do what we can to fix it._"

"_God damn it!" _Hammond cursed in frustration, _"I'll start working on it from here. Isaac, Timmy, meet me at the Bridge. You two can do more good here than I can_." Both of them hung up.

"Sure thing, Hammond," I said, even though he was offline right now. As Isaac and I traveled back to the Control Room so that we could get to the Bridge, I posed my question again.

"Seriously, though," I asked, "What is up with this ship?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Isaac answered, collecting some supplies before trekking back the way we came.

When we neared the control room, however, Isaac suddenly stopped. "What's up?" I asked, fiddling with my flamethrower as Isaac remained where he was. He didn't answer me.

"Hey," I said, waving my hand in front of his face, "Spacing out on me, huh?" I chuckled a little bit, which quickly disappeared when he began to speak.

"Nicole?" he began, "I'm here, Nicole. I'm on my way!"

I raised an eyebrow. _Okay? _I thought, moving on to the Control Room again. What was _that _all about?

* * *

As we climbed into the tram and made our way over to the Bridge, I decided to heal myself a Isaac reloaded all his weapons.

"Nicole spoke to me before," he told me, "It wasn't a long message, but it still gives me hope." He sighed and leaned his head back.

"Really?" I asked, feeling a little uncomfortable, "How was she? Did she say where she was?"

"No," Isaac replied, "But she sounded like she was in good health."

"That's good." With a lurch, the tram stopped.

"_Welcome to the Bridge,_" the usual accented voice greeted. We stepped off and began to look around as Hammond appeared before our eyes again.

"_Isaac, Timmy, come in,_" he began,_ "Kendra's right, the ADS is completely shot. I'll need your help to fix this. Kendra, if you can hear me, see if you can get into the ship reports. It sounds like you have better access from there._"

However, Kendra seemed none too pleased. Was it just me, or did she always seem like she had a stick up her ass? "_When were you going to tell us about the artifact, Hammond? This 'Marker?'" _she demanded. That made me nervous for a second. Would she go off on me if I told her I was a little bit familiar with the Marker, too?

Hammond looked genuinely surprised, and Isaac and I remained silent as the two of them argued. "_What are you talking about? I don't know anything about that. It's referenced in the captain's records. They brought it up from the planet-" _

_"It's on the ship?" _

_"In cargo. They think it's of alien origin. But I don't know what the hell it is._"

Next to me, Isaac brought his hand up to his face and sighed. "Looks like they're at it again," he grumbled, "They've been arguing ever since we arrived here."

"I was about to say," I mused, "They do this a lot, don't they?"

"It's getting on my last nerve," the engineer said, "They don't trust each other. Why, I don't know." I shrugged.

_"__Really? CEC didn't know anything about it? You're lying,_" Kendra accused, narrowing her eyes.

"Hey hey!" I shouted, clapping my hands while Isaac did the same, "Indoor voices!"

"Stop fighting!" Isaac added at the same time.

Kendra sighed. "_I'm sorry, boys,_" she apologized, "_But when there's someone in the group leaving you out of the loop, it's frustrating! Right, Hammond?_"

"_Back off. I am not the bad guy here. We're all shaky right now. You're going to have to trust that I don't know anything about it. We've entered the debris field! Get to the captain's nest. I'll explain everything later. Hammond out_." He hung up, leaving us with Kendra, who rolled her eyes and then signed off as well.

"Man," I commented, shaking my head, "Some people just need a little love." We continued onward to the Bridge, and along the way, I thought about how I was keeping stuff from Isaac. Would he hate me if he found out I was unintentionally associated with Unitology?

When we arrived on the Bridge itself, the first thing we noticed was a ton of debris crashing down on us from all directions. "Come on!" Isaac shouted, hurrying me along as we rested at another Save Station for a minute before continuing on to meet Hammond. I couldn't believe I was going to actually meet him in person now! I wondered if he still thought I was goofing around. Kendra probably told him about what had happened between us earlier.

I let Isaac go first as he opened the door to the Bridge and reunited with Hammond. The older man was standing by the large window and staring out into space, literally.

As soon as he heard us enter the room, he whirled around. "Isaac! Timmy!" he gasped, "Damn, you scared me!"

"Surprise," I intoned, waving my hands dramatically.

"Very funny," Hammond replied, "This place is making me jumpy. Fucking asteroids coming through the roof!"

"Well, we'll try to repair the ADS as much as we can," Isaac assured him.

"Thank you, Isaac. At least I know I can trust you."

"Hey!" I cut in, "What about me?"

Hammond considered me next. "You've got a long way to go," he said, "But you seem all right." That was enough.

"Look," he continued, "I know Kendra doesn't trust me, but I don't know anything about a Marker or anything else. This was supposed to be a repair mission, plain and simple."

"It still is," Isaac quipped, "Slowly but surely, the _Ishimura _is being fixed." I nodded encouragingly.

Hammond sighed and pointed to the ADS. "This mess is the Asteroid Defense System," he explained as we moved forward to get a closer look, "I can fix these boards, but the main power routing is shot. You're going to have to reroute them manually through three junction boxes to activate the primary cannon. Oh, but first, you need to activate the Atrium elevators from Bridge Security. You can use them to get to the junction boxes." He turned back to the computers and began typing away.

"Oh, by the way, you two," he added, "Be careful. I saw something out there. I don't know what it was; I only got a glimpse. But it was big. Really big."

"How encouraging," I commented. Hammond glanced over at me again.

"It's for your own good, Timmy," he said, "Where did you come from, anyway? How did you arrive here?"

"It's not important," I responded, "I'll explain everything later."

"Let's go find the Atrium elevators," Isaac suggested, leading me out of the room.

"Bye, Hammond!" I called to the man by the ADS, waving. He nodded curtly and returned to work.

Everything was quiet once again as we arrived back where we were before. However, as soon as we advanced forward, we heard a loud bang. "What was that?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly. Up ahead, the door was starting to cave in and dent as the insistent banging continued.

"Get back," Isaac whispered, grabbing my arm and pulling me back. We readied our weapons as the door finally gave way with a loud crash, revealing a Necromorph larger than all the other ones we had encountered so far. It was big and bulky, and sort of apish in its movements. Every time it advanced towards us, it shook the entire Bridge.

"What the hell is that?" I cried as it roared at the top of its lungs and charged towards us with bursts of unnatural speed. If we didn't move soon, it would run us over like a freight train! But I couldn't move out of fear, so I was forced to watch as the Brute plowed towards me with the clear intention of mowing me down.


	6. Close Encounters with Old Enemies

**_DISCLAIMER:_ **Only Timmy is mine. Everyone else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

**_Bold and Italics- _**Third-person POV

_Italics- _Isaac's POV

* * *

_"Run, Timmy!" I shouted as the Brute continued to charge, but Timmy must have been too scared to move. The Necromorph continued to accelerate towards us as it let out an ear-splitting roar. All around us, the doors closed and locked, signifying another quarantine. _

_"Shit!" I cursed, racing forward and using Stasis on the Brute. In a flash of blue light, it slowed down, though it still charged towards Timmy. As soon as the Stasis kicked in, Timmy opened his eyes and ran behind the Brute in order to get out of harm's way. Throughout the whole ordeal, I noticed the pulsing yellow bulbs on its arms, and I began to shoot at those with the Plasma Cutter while Timmy burned it from behind. _

_"Hey, Isaac!" Timmy shouted, "There's no armor on its back!" _

_"That's what Hammond just told me now!" I cried, "Keep torching him! I'll get him from the front!" _

_However, the Stasis eventually wore off, and I felt the Brute slam into me, knocking me back quite a few feet. "Isaac!" I heard Timmy shout from behind the hulking Necromorph, "Are you okay?" _

_"Ow," I mumbled to myself, rubbing my back as I stood up. My body ached all over, and I was surprised the Brute didn't break any of my bones after charging like that. It was a good thing I had upgraded my health before! _

_While the Brute stepped back for a minute, I spotted Timmy running towards me from behind the beast, and he held a hand out to help me up. "Are you all right, man?" he asked, his voice full of concern. _

_I nodded, wincing at the pain in my chest. "I'm fine," I assured him, "I'll be all right." _

_The Brute roared again as it charged, and I used Stasis again to buy us some time. I ran around to the back this time and shot at the yellow bulbs on its legs while Timmy worked on the arms this time. After a while, it curled up into a defensive ball, giving us an even bigger advantage. While we were in the middle of shooting and flaming it, it roared, leaped up again, and rammed into Timmy this time, sending him flying back into some of the control panels. "Shit," the teenager cursed, "You weren't kidding, Isaac. This beast is brutal!" He staggered to his feet again, and we both replenished our health quickly. _

_I shot the Brute in the arms a few more times before it finally went down, leaving five thousand credits in its place. "_Quarantine lifted,_" a voice announced, unlocking all the doors again. Before we moved on, Timmy and I both reloaded our weapons. _

_Timmy took some deep breaths. "Holy shit," he gasped, "I hope we don't run into one of those things again!" _

_"I hope we don't, either," I agreed, "Wait here. I'm going to activate the Atrium Elevators." He looked shaken, but he nodded all the same, holding out his flamethrower in front of him. _

_I headed inside the Security Station, but as I did, the monitors up ahead flashed, and suddenly, Nicole's face appeared before my eyes. _

_"_Isaac,_" she pleaded, _"Make us whole again._" _

_"Nicole!" I cried, running towards the monitors, but she disappeared without saying much else. _Nicole, _I thought, _Hang in there. I'm coming.

_This was the second time she had contacted me. This video log reminded me of the other message I had received from her on the Engineering Deck. _

_"_Isaac…Isaac, where are you?_" she had said that time, "_It's me. Nicole."

_She sounded well, which made me feel relieved. But why wasn't she telling me where she was? If I knew her exact location, I would be able to find her much faster. _

_I remembered the look Timmy had given me in the Control Room after Nicky's first message, when he had taken his helmet off for a second. He had stared at me as if I was a new Necromorph he had never seen before. Why had he looked at me like that? I was only trying to reunite with my girlfriend. What was so wrong about that? _

_Shaking my head, I moved forward and activated the elevators, and then to my relief, I spotted a bench. I quickly upgraded my Stasis Module and Pulse Rifle before collecting more items and deciding to move on. _

_"Hey, Timmy," I said, approaching him, "Did you want to upgrade your flamethrower before we moved on?" _

_"Oh!" he gasped, "Sure, Isaac. I won't be too long." He saluted me and ran into the Security Station where the Bench was, and I sighed. That boy always seemed to bounce back and forth between being the most arrogant person I'd ever met to being really caring and nice. Why was he fluctuating like that? _

_Whatever. I had to find Nicole. That was all that mattered. She was clearly around here somewhere, and once I found her, I would try and fix things with her once and for all. _

_

* * *

_

While I was at the bench, I had decided to upgrade not only my flamethrower, but my health as well. I would need to be able to take more damage from enemies like the Brute.

Once I was finished, I met up with Isaac again, and we made our way into the now functioning elevator. On the floor was a video log, which Isaac immediately picked up and began to play as we rode the elevator down to the next area. The scene that unfolded in front of us was not what we were expecting at all.

In the video, two men were holding another man back, while someone was standing in front of the restrained man. "_This is mutiny!_" he snapped, "_You'll all be tried for mutiny! Kyne, make them listen to reason!_"

"Dr. Kyne!" I cried out loud, recognizing Terrence Kyne as the man facing the other three. Resentment boiled under my skin.

"You know him?" Isaac asked.

"Y-yeah," I answered in a short tone, "I _know _him."

"Shh," the engineer whispered as the video log continued.

"_Settle down, then,_" Kyne ordered, "_Hold him._" He marched forward, and it looked like he was carrying something in his hand.

"_By Maritime Law Article 54-69, I hereby declare Captain Benjamin Matthius unfit for duty._" So _that_ must have been what he was doing after he left me to Mercer!

"_The Marker…must be delivered to the church!_" Matthius pleaded, "_Terrence, please!_"

Kyne turned away from him and caressed the syringe in his hands. "_I'm sorry, Ben,_" he apologized in a low voice, "_But I can't let you do this._"

"Uh oh," Isaac muttered while I just watched with dread.

Matthius looked pissed off from his end. "_Traitor!" _he snapped, "_Heretic!_"

"_Hold his head," _Kyne said to the two men holding the captain back.

"_MURDERER!" _

_"Hold him!" _Isaac and I watched as Kyne moved forward to stick the needle into Matthius's neck. However, a fight ensued after that, with the captain trying to get away from Kyne and the other two men that were holding him. The screen went to static for a second before going back online, and by the time it did, we noticed that Kyne had stabbed Matthius in the eye.

"Oh, shit!" I cursed in shock. _Kyne is crazier than I thought he was! _I thought as we watched Matthius slump to the ground. The other two men let go of him, and Kyne seemed horrified at what had just happened.

"_He's…he's dead!_" one of them gasped.

Kyne shook his head insistently. "_N-no,_" he stammered, "_It was an accident! I-I had to stop him!" _

_"Arrest the doctor!" _the other man ordered as the video log ended.

As it finished, the elevator doors opened in front of us. "All right, that was just crazy!" I commented.

"Tell me about it," Isaac agreed, "This is getting weirder every minute. How do you know Dr. Kyne, though?"

I paused for a minute. "He was helping me to escape," I explained, "And he suddenly abandoned me to go find someone named Amelia." I shrugged. It was the best answer I could give without revealing too much personal information.

"Amelia," Isaac echoed, "We should try and find her, too, while we're here." I nodded and went ahead to the Save Station, and then watched as Isaac continued onward to the Storage Room, killing another Necromorph before gesturing to me.

"_It looks like some of the gravity plating is malfunctioning,_" Kendra suddenly reported to us through an audio log, "_Keep an eye out for any kind of distortion effect coming from the floor. It could be dangerous._"

"Aww," I cooed sarcastically, "You've actually taken time out of arguing with Hammond to care about us!" I knew Isaac hated it when I did that, but I just couldn't resist; there was something about Kendra that just didn't sit right with me. And not just because she rejected my advances on the Engineering Deck.

Although we couldn't see Kendra, I was sure she was rolling her eyes. "_Timmy,_" she growled, "_You are a piece of work._"

"Why, thank you," I replied sweetly, causing her to growl and sign offline.

"Why do you do that?" Isaac asked as we tiptoed through this next area.

"Do what?" I asked, facing him.

"Do that! Go from being really arrogant and crass to being really nice?"

Before I could answer, we suddenly heard something roar, and through the grating, we could see a monster on the other side trying to make its way towards us. A low humming noise greeted us, and when we rounded the next corner, we saw some of the plates in the floor emit a strange light.

"Those must be the distortions in the floor," Isaac whispered to me, "Be careful where you walk." I nodded, keeping my back flat against the wall as I tiptoed past the first distortion. Suddenly, the Slasher we had seen before appeared, but before it could attack, it stepped into one of the distortions and shot up to the ceiling with a sickening _thud_.

"Yikes," I gasped, looking away and closing my eyes, "That is brutal."

"Careful." We moved on, watching as more of the enemies accidentally stepped into more of the distortions. At least we wouldn't have to waste our ammo on them.

"Come on," the engineer whispered after using Kinesis to move some crates and refilling his Stasis Module.

As we arrived in the next area, however, a familiar banging noise echoed around us. "Damn," I hissed, "Why does that sound familiar?"

_Boom! _The walls up ahead broke, and another Brute emerged, roaring at the top of its lungs. "Another one?" Isaac shouted, using Stasis to slow down the hulking Necromorph as it charged towards us.

Isaac ran around to the back, shooting the Brute in its back while I torched the arms. After a few rounds of hitting it while it was curled into a defensive ball, it went down, leaving behind a Power Node in its place. That Brute seemed much easier than the other one we had encountered. Once it was dead, we heard repeated popping sounds, and when we went to investigate, we encountered some wires that were whipping back and forth out of control. I gulped.

"Wait here," Isaac commanded, and I stayed put as he sprinted towards the out of control wires. Using Stasis on them, he slowed them down, ran towards the Control Panel up ahead, and activated it.

"_Power transferred to the ADS,_" a voice announced.

* * *

_**A vacuum and three ADS control boxes later…**_

**"**_Asteroid Defense System Now Online_," we heard the computer echo once Isaac finished activating the last one.

"_All right,_" Hammond announced, radioing in to us, "_We've got enough power, but the ADS cannon's auto-targeting is down. I think it's a faulty data cable. I need you two to aim the cannon manually until I can replace it. Take the elevator to the top of the ship, and head for the cannon pit." _

"Got it," Isaac replied, "Thanks, Hammond."

"Lead the way," I said, gesturing with my gloved hand, and Isaac directed us to the elevator in the corner. As we got on and made our way up a few floors, I thought about what Isaac asked me before and took a deep breath.

"You know how they say 'nice guys finish last'?" I began, "That's why I do what I do."

Isaac shook his head. "Don't tell me you believe that," he said.

I nodded. "It's pretty much been hammered home to me for my whole life," I explained, "By my friends. At least…the few that I…I have." I trailed off, refusing to go into more detail as Hammond sent us another message.

"_Isaac, Timmy,_" he announced, "_You're going to have to cross the ship's exterior to reach the ADS cannon. Problem is, we're still getting bombarded by asteroids. Look for cover or else you'll both get torn to pieces." _

"You know how to say things bluntly," I commented.

"_Would you rather find out about this the hard way?_" Hammond fired back.

"No," Isaac jumped in, "We appreciate the advice. Even if Timmy doesn't think so."

"_Be careful, boys. Let me know when you reach the cannon._" He hung up.

"You've got a lot to learn about working with people, Timmy," Isaac commented as we sprinted over to a circular door leading to the ship's exterior.

I laughed harshly. "I was never much of a team player," I replied.

Before the engineer could comment, a voice announced, "_Entering vacuum. Entering zero gravity._" And with that, the sound disappeared, which forced us to communicate nonverbally once again.

"_Warning! Multiple impacts detected across the starboard hull!_"

_Oh, God,_ I thought, following Isaac as he took cover behind a metal stand. Above us, the asteroids sailed, slamming into the ground in quiet explosions. I still wasn't used to the zero-g and vacuum environments. When would I ever be?

Once the asteroids were finished with their impacts, Isaac tapped me on the shoulder, and I nodded and followed him to the next metal stand, where we crouched down and waited for the next batch of asteroids to pass by. This took place for at least another thirty seconds or so, and the two of us were beginning to gasp by the time we arrived at the ADS cannon.

Almost instinctively, Isaac sat down in front of the controls of the cannon, and the large window opened up ahead. "_Manual override initiated,_" the voice rang out as Isaac began shooting at the incoming asteroids. On the right, the hull integrity showed up, starting at 85, and every time an asteroid collided into the ship, this number went down.

For now, though, Isaac seemed to be holding his own, with Hammond assuring him that he was almost finished repairing that faulty cable.

"You've almost got it, Isaac!" I cheered him on enthusiastically, even though his Hull Integrity had decreased to about 46 at this point. No matter, though; he was more than all right. After shooting a few more times, the cannon started taking out the asteroids on its own.

"_Automated tracking system initiated._"

"You did it!" I exclaimed, high-fiving Isaac in victory, "You're the man!"

"_Nice shooting, Isaac,_" Hammond complimented in agreement, "_Auto-targeting is now online and clearing a path to safe orbit. As soon as we're clear, I'll engage the autopilot again. Head to the tram station, and I'll meet you there when I'm done._" Isaac nodded and gestured to me. We were going back to the tram station! Where would we go from here?

* * *

**God's plan is slowly in motion now,**_** Mercer thought as he stared through some security cameras from his office at the Hydroponics Deck. Hours ago, not only had he dubbed Phase Three as his next experiment, but he had decided to try something else as well. Phase Four, he had called it. **_

_**In his eagerness to find as many test subjects as possible, he had kidnapped and murdered eight more crew members and performed experiments on their lungs. He had searched all through Hydroponics; he realized there was something growing inside the Food Storage Chamber. In his eyes, the rest of the people on this ship would die if there was no edible food. Why not speed up the process a little bit? They were all destined to move on to the next life, anyway. And if they didn't see it, he would make them see it. **_

_**As the hours passed, Mercer had eventually created a new type of Necromorph: one that wouldn't attack, but would instead poison the air in the area by breathing out of large bulbs on its back. **_**This is brilliant, **_**he thought, sending the eight new Wheezers on their way through capsules he had designed himself in order to override the ship's tram system. He wanted to slowly deteriorate the USG Ishimura and the few people still inside it. **_

_**Of course, that had all been hours ago, once he had finished with Phase Three. Now, he was picking up a couple of transmissions from various survivors on the ship. And the best part was, they didn't even realize he was listening in. "Wait!" a woman cried, "Isaac, Timmy, Hammond! You're not going to believe this!" **_

_**"What's going on, Kendra?" Isaac asked. **_

_**"Oxygen levels are falling!" Kendra reported, "Something's poisoning Hydroponics air production, and whatever it is, it's filling up the deck with that organic stuff! We're not going to have any air to breathe soon!" Mercer smirked to himself. **_

_**"Damn!" Timmy cursed, "What do we do now?" **_

_**"Let me finish," Kendra commanded, "I was just getting to that. But if I understand these lab reports, I think I can make a poison to destroy it. Head to Medical. It should have everything you need." **_**No! **_**Mercer thought. These pathetic humans would not go on with this. Not if the scientist could help it, anyway. **_

_**"Will this never end?" one last voice growled, which Mercer assumed was Hammond, "Isaac, Timmy, get to Medical and mix together whatever Kendra's come up with. I'm heading to Hydroponics. If I can slow it down, that might keep us breathing long enough to fight it." The transmissions ended there. **_

_**Mercer had to admit that these people had strong wills. They were willing to fight. Unfortunately for them, their wills to live would not help them soon enough. He would see to that. **_

**So, **_**he thought, heading towards the control panel that controlled all the door locks on the Medical Deck, **_**The engineer and Phase Two are returning here? I will make sure they don't live past my creation. **_**He pressed a few buttons, closing off some of the doors Isaac had passed through the last time he had visited this deck. He then turned his attention back to the cameras, where Isaac and Timmy were running across the Bridge and back to the tram. Timmy had removed his helmet for a minute, and it was clear from the look on his face that he was reluctant to return to the Medical Deck. **_**Phase Two,**_** he thought, **_**I knew you would return. **

**

* * *

**

The tram slowed down and came to a stop back in the Medical Deck once more, and Isaac and I decided to disembark. Something didn't seem right about this after what we had just gone through in the last section. As soon as I realized we were returning here, I just wanted to climb back into the tram and just go straight to Hydroponics. But I knew it would be wrong to leave Isaac here after everything we've been through.

Suddenly, Kendra appeared on the live feed. "_Shit_," she cursed, "_Isaac, Timmy! I can smell the contaminated air from here! It's spreading faster than I expected! I'm trying to isolate it, but it's not going to buy us much time! We have to get that thing off this ship!_"

"No, shit," I muttered under my breath, earning what I guessed was a glare from both Isaac and Kendra.

"_Anyway_," Kendra continued, "_The chemicals you need are in the Chemistry Lab. I'll hack the door when you get there_."

"Thanks, Kendra," Isaac thanked her.

"Bye, Kendra!" I called out, waving. After giving me a disapproving look, Kendra went offline. I shrugged when Isaac just stared at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Let's just move," Isaac suggested, leading me through the dark hallways as he stopped at a store and broke open some crates. There were open body bags on the floor, which made me feel sick for a minute.

"Oh, God, Isaac," I groaned, "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Just close your eyes and take some deep breaths," Isaac whispered, "You're doing good so far."

"Surprisingly," I added as we opened the next door ahead of us and caught sight of a silhouette.

"Is that a person?" I asked.

"I don't think so," Isaac replied. But as the two of us moved through the room, a voice suddenly echoed from the loudspeakers above us.

"_You can't stand in the way of God's plan!_" it whispered, "_The natural order! Are you…are you blind, like the rest?_" I froze where I was as Isaac ran and explored the room some more.

"What the fuck?" I muttered under my breath as Isaac made his way over to me again.

"What's wrong?" he asked, giving me some ammunition to carry.

I couldn't answer at first. I began to shake where I was standing, and my heart rate picked up again, worse than it had in a while. "Timmy?" Isaac asked a little more insistently, "What's the matter?"

"N-nothing," I stammered, "Let's keep going." _Oh my God, _I thought with dread, _That voice sounded like…like Mercer! Shit! Did he find me again, like he promised he would? _

"_Looks like someone has reprogrammed the door locks on this deck_," Kendra's voice announced through our communicators, making me jump a little bit, "_And recently, too. I guess we're not alone here, after all. Someone doesn't want you two in this part of the ship_." _Oh, God, _I thought again, swallowing and feeling a lump in my throat.

"Are you sure you're all right, Timmy?" Isaac asked again after typing something into the Save Station and ushering me forward to a newly unlocked door, "You seem shaken."

"I-I'm fine," I insisted, "The Stamford man's always fine, remember?"

"I don't think so. You look rattled this time."

"Don't worry about me, Isaac. I'm okay." Somewhat. Actually, that was a lie. I was not all right. Not by a long shot.

"If you say so," Isaac said, "Let's go. I just killed more Necromorphs up ahead."

"Good," I sighed with relief as I felt more like myself again. I was still rattled, though; what was going to happen to us next?

We passed through another door, where we found a floating explosive in the air. Using his Kinesis Module, Isaac picked up the canister and carried it around the corner.

"AHHHHH!" a familiar voice shrieked, and to my horror, I watched as the all-too-familiar Guardian popped out of the wall in its signature shriek. All I could see in front of me was that doomed crew member, as well as me ducking and avoiding its instant-kill attack.

"Isaac!" I cried in a panic, "Be careful with those Guardians."

The engineer turned to face me incredulously. "You know what these are already?" he asked skeptically, "How?"

I gulped. "I…I heard the name somewhere on the ship," I lied, "Just don't…get too close to them."

"I wasn't going to, anyway."

I gaped at him. "You weren't?" I asked in surprise.

"No. Something's telling me to get this one from a distance."

"Good idea." I stepped behind Isaac and watched as he hurled the canister at the Guardian and killed it instantly.

"Whew," I sighed, wiping my forehead, "Thank God that's dead."

"Come on!" Isaac said to me, hurrying me along to the cargo lift to the upstairs floor. In front of us, the platform to get across to the other side was going haywire, and after Isaac killed some more monsters, I grinned, suppressing my anxiety and glancing at the engineer.

"So," I began, "Do you know how to get around this, too?"

"Yep," Isaac replied as he used Stasis on the platform. Once we were on the other side, I began to laugh again.

"You know something? I like you, Isaac," I commented, "And you've got the coolest weapons ever." _Damn straight, _I added as a silent afterthought.

Isaac waved a hand in the air, but thanked me all the same. As much as I was jealous of the engineer, I still admired him and thought he was a badass. He seemed modest about the whole thing, though. A lot more modest than I would ever be, and I found that to be strangely refreshing.

After using Stasis for a second time, Isaac received another transmission from Kendra. "_You're close to the chemistry station," _she announced, _"Once you get the chemicals, you're also going to need a DNA sample of the alien tissue. I'll search the records for one." _

"Sure thing," Isaac replied, "Let us know what you find."

We made our way down into the Chemistry Lab itself. "Another audio log," Isaac told me.

"Let's see what this one says," I suggested, taking my helmet off for a minute. Isaac picked it up, and the recording began, making me freeze and widen my eyes once more.

"_You can't hold me here!_" a voice in the background snapped as another voice eclipsed it.

"_Personal log, Dr. Challus Mercer,_" Mercer began, making my heart beat faster, "_I now have a live subject in my study. I'm eager to validate my tissue regeneration theory._"

"Oh, _shit_!" Isaac and I cursed at the same time, but for two entirely different reasons. _Oh, crap! _I thought, _Mercer actually found someone else!_ We fell silent again as the recording continued.

"_Initial restraint was problematic, but now the patient is resting comfortably. He trusts me, Dr. Kyne. He puts his life in my hands! He knows his part in all of this. He understands what I'm doing!" _

"_No! Let me out of here, please!_" I winced and closed my eyes at the desperation in this man's voice, and thought about how _I _was that person a while ago.

"_The forehead has been swabbed clean and marked._"

"_What…what are you doing with that?_" Suddenly, we both heard a whirring sound in the background.

"Oh my God!" Isaac petitioned in horror, and I was too rattled to respond. A lump was beginning to form in my throat.

"_And now, I am attempting to create a passage to insert the sample tissue into…" _

_"No! NO! AHHHHHHHHH!" _The whirring got louder and louder as the screams became more desperate to the point where I couldn't control myself anymore.

"Fuck!" I cursed, "FUCK!" I grabbed the audio log out of Isaac's hand and threw it across the hallway, effectively smashing it.

"Timmy!" Isaac cried, floored.

"NO, NO, NO!" I shouted. The guilt was too much, and the throbbing pain in my arm suddenly returned after hearing that. For the first time in a while, I began to cry, something that I didn't want Isaac to see. I couldn't help it, though; that voice earlier, and this audio log brought back horrible memories of hours ago. Isaac continued to stare at me as I cried. I didn't mean to come across as weak, but I had to admit this was a sore point for me. The fact that Mercer actually murdered someone else in cold blood for _his _purposes made me furious. Now I was glad I had the flamethrower.

"Shh," the engineer next to me whispered, "Everything will be okay. We'll get through this." Granted, he was shaken up, too, but he was better at handling it than I was.

"No," I choked, "No, it won't. I could have saved that man. He could have been living right now if it hadn't been for me!" _If I hadn't run away before going back to find some of the others, _I thought sadly. I wiped my tears as Isaac rested a hand on my shoulder. He must have been shocked to see me like this.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

I shook my head. "The Stamford man doesn't want to talk about it right now," I told him, "It's too horrible." Isaac didn't say another word about it, but he silently led me into the Chemistry lab, where another interesting sight greeted us: two Necromorphs were situated side by side in large capsules, and they looked like they were sleeping.

"I don't believe this," I commented out loud as Isaac collected a few items around the room and I put my helmet back on.

"Do you think those are going to wake up when they realize we're in here?" I asked in a shaky voice.

"I doubt it," Isaac replied, tapping the glass on the left, "They seemed pretty knocked out to me." Walking over to the desk in the corner, the engineer pressed a few buttons as a voice echoed through the room.

"_Processing request,_" it said, "_Please stand by._" As we stood by, we backed up and readied our weapons, just in case there were any unexpected surprises.

"_Antigen compound completed. Please remove the capsule._"

"Here," Isaac whispered, handing it to me, "Be careful with it." I nodded. However, from behind us, the window suddenly opened, and a voice greeted us.

"What _are _you doing?" it asked, and we both whirled around to see Dr. Mercer standing on the other side.

"Mercer!" I cried, barging towards the window with Isaac holding me back, but clearly feeling incensed as well. The nutcase didn't seemed fazed.

"Your fight for survival is admirable, but pointless," he said, grinning at us as if he had discovered God himself, "And yet, you keep on going! It almost makes me think that we had hope as a species."

"Shut up!" Isaac snapped, releasing me.

"Am I the only one who sees that we have died out a long time ago? We just haven't accepted it yet." Neither one of us said anything, but I was furious. Thank God Mercer couldn't see the look of rage on my face.

"Stop running. Stop your struggle. Our future, _your _future, the future of our race ends here! Allow me to introduce you two to humanity's child. The children that will replace us. Our greatest creation."

"Fuck you, Mercer!" I cursed, flipping him the bird, "Fuck you!" Mercer smirked.

"You shouldn't have run, Timothy," he taunted, wagging a finger at me, "You could have been like Phase One and Three. Phase Three is all your fault. And now you will pay the price for your rebellion." Smiling, he walked away. Isaac faced me next.

"How do you know that maniac?" he asked. Before I could answer, we heard something roar as the Necromorph in the right capsule suddenly woke up and broke through the glass with a roar and a bang.

"Phase Three," I whispered, backing away as Isaac switched to his Line Gun and began attempting to dismember the creature. But the more we tried to kill it, the more it continued to regenerate more limbs. I couldn't hear my own cries of shock and guilt over the din. I realized in that moment that this Regenerator was going to be me if I hadn't run away.

"_You can't kill it, boys_!" Kendra cried frantically, "_It's just going to keep regenerating! Get out of there! Run!_"

"You heard Kendra!" Isaac shouted at me, "Run!" As soon as the door opened up ahead, the two of us began to run as far away from the Regenerator as possible. It roared from behind us as it gave chase.

"Go, go, go!" Isaac cried as we made our way back the way we came earlier. As we continued to run down the hallway, we received a broken transmission from Hammond, who had reached Hydroponics by now and could barely breathe, and then eventually another one from Kendra.

"_Now, you need to find a DNA sample of the growth,_" she said, "_According to lab records, there's an inert sample stored in the ICU. A Dr. Mercer was apparently doing intensive research on it. I've been trying to contact Hammond, but all I'm getting is static! Isaac, Timmy, you've got to hurry!"_

"We're trying!" I replied.

"_Wait,_" Kendra piped up suddenly, "_What's this? I've got something else here about you, Timmy. I'll be right back._" She signed offline, leaving me to wonder what she was looking up.

Along the way, Isaac stopped at a store briefly and began to organize himself while I kept a lookout for the Regenerator.

"I was one of Dr. Mercer's lab rats," I explained to Isaac after taking a deep breath and fiddling with the flamethrower, "That's how I knew him back there." I suddenly had a flashback to the painful slicing he inflicted on my arm.

"You were?" Isaac asked, surprised.

I nodded. "I managed to escape somehow, with Dr. Terrence Kyne's help," I quipped, bitterness creeping into my voice, "Mercer said it would be my fault if anyone else was killed tonight. He also nearly got me killed by one of those Guardians from before. That's how I knew about those, too."

"Timmy," Isaac began, but I cut him off.

"Look," I snapped, "I don't need your support. I just figured you would want the truth. And you want to know why I was following you before, in that room with the quarantine where we first met? I was trying to find Dr. Kyne so I could ask him why he left me with that maniac! What I had to go through with Mercer was the most horrific thing to ever happen to me! And nobody in this God damn _shithole _can seem to be able to do anything about it!"

"Well, I'm helping you." I just glared at him and moved on, no doubt leaving him annoyed. I was wrong to snap at him the way I did. It was just that I was so furious about my situation.

"Your persistence surprises me," we heard Mercer comment again as we entered the next room, "Holding onto your final breath, you claw your way along. You hold onto what was once your world. But now, it belongs to the children."

"Bullshit!" I cursed, lunging for Mercer from our end, "You can go fucking _kill _yourself, for all I care!" I felt Isaac rest a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to calm me down. I needed to calm down, or else the Regenerator would find us. Mercer smirked.

"Be glad of the knowledge that _your death…_will bring their rebirth."

"I don't see you exactly going to get yourself killed, you creep!" I snapped.

"It's not my time yet," Mercer said softly, "But I know it is soon."

"Listen to us," Isaac spoke up in a firm voice, "We've all got to get off this ship! If we don't find a way to escape, we're going to die!" Mercer shook his head, which made us realize he was so psychotic that he wouldn't see human reason anymore.

_Boom! _"Listen," Mercer whispered, fixing his gaze on Isaac and giving him all the attention now, "Can you hear it? It's coming. Say your prayers." Glaring at us, and giving me the ultimate death stare, he left again as the door in front of us unlocked and we heard the Regenerator roar again.

"Come on!" Isaac shouted, pulling me along as we continued to run. This next room was oddly quiet, for some reason, so we stayed on our feet the whole time.

_Grrr! _"Isaac?" I asked nervously.

"It'll be fine," he whispered back, moving into a side room with a bunch of lockers. As he did so, something burst through a vent up ahead, and the Regenerator/Hunter appeared, growling and searching for us.

"Isaac!" I repeated, "It's found us!"

"Move!" the engineer cried, pushing past me and using Stasis on the Hunter. While it was slowed down, we took care of the rest of the enemies, one by one until only the Hunter was left. His yellow eyes glowed as he roared and chased us around the room.

"Come on, come on!" Isaac shouted, presumably to Kendra, "Hurry up!"

I glanced at him, and then at the Hunter again as we locked eyes. While Isaac ran around and collected more supplies for us, I kept the Hunter distracted as it ambled towards me. I still couldn't believe Mercer actually went through with his promise that he would kill someone else.

"Timmy!" Isaac cried, attracting both my attention and the Regenerator's attention. I knocked a lab table over in the Necromorph's path and sprinted towards Isaac as we continued to run down the deserted hallways. Up ahead was another Guardian, which Isaac took out with an explosive not unlike the one in the Imaging Diagnostics Room. This whole path was familiar to me, which made me realize where we were about to end up.

"I wish I had a brown paper bag right now," I croaked as we made our way through the doors up ahead and back into Challus Mercer's office.

"God, I never thought I would be back here," I said as Isaac picked up some more supplies for us.

"Did he…?" Isaac started, but didn't finish.

"Hurt me badly?" I finished for him, "I'm still here, aren't I? He did this, though." I removed some of my suit to show him the severe incisions in my arm, where my skin was starting to turn brown, just like Phase One. That was not a good sign.

"Timmy," Isaac gasped. I shook my head.

"He's going to pay for everything he's been doing on the ship," the engineer assured me, "But it looks like he left another audio log." He pressed play, and I closed my eyes, not wanting to hear any of it, but forcing myself to all the same.

"_Personal log, Dr. Challus Mercer,_" the psycho began, "_The specimen continues to respond well to my experiments. Its cellular fortitude, not to mention elasticity, is remarkable. Dr. Kyne, I'm sure, would disapprove. But I do not anticipate that issue, as the good doctor is busying himself with the Marker. As if that matters now! He has also succumbed to the same dementia that afflicted the colony. Only yesterday, he told me he'd spoken to his wife…but Amelia Kyne has been dead for some years." _

_"_Amelia!" I gasped, "That was the name Dr. Kyne yelled before leaving me!"

"Shh," Isaac whispered as we heard a low growling in the background, which I assumed was the sign of Phase Three being a success.

"_My subject grows restless. Patience. Your time is soon. Very soon._" The audio log ended.

"Dementia," Isaac muttered under his breath, "I guess some of the survivors I've met are suffering from the same thing, since the Marker's on the ship."

"Are we suffering from it, too?" I asked worriedly.

"No, we're fine," he assured me, "As long as we remain focused on our task, we'll be fine."

I waited by the door, trying my best not to look around Mercer's sick office, as Isaac mixed the DNA sample with the poison. Once that was finished, Kendra appeared on the live feed.

"_That's it, you two,_" she said, "_Now you just need to finish-"_

However, a burst of static interrupted her, and Mercer replaced her. "_This has gone far enough!" _he snapped, "_Accept your part in God's plan! Embrace your own extinction!" _

"Mercer!" Isaac snapped, but before we knew it, we heard a whooshing sound and suddenly felt lightheaded.

"_Warning! Life Support System failure on the Medical Deck! Please evacuate immediately!" _

_Damn you, Mercer, _I thought angrily as Isaac and I found that everything went silent around us.


	7. Hell in Hydroponics

**DISCLAIMER: **Timmy is mine. All the other characters and the dialog from video and audio logs belong to Visceral Games and EA. Plot ideas involving Mercer are also mine.

_Italics- _Isaac's POV

* * *

"_Who the hell was that?_" Kendra demanded.

"That was the beast himself," I answered as Isaac said, "Dr. Mercer."

"_Isaac, Timmy, he's decompressed the entire deck, and I'm being locked out of those systems! All the air has been vented into space! You should be able to bring it back online from the Security Station, but you don't have much time!_"

"Wait, Kendra!" I began, "What did you find out about me?" However, she was gone, forcing me and Isaac to leave Mercer's office and fill up on air at the nearby oxygen recharge. Isaac waved to me, and I followed him as a small swarm crawled into the room in front of us. Isaac quickly used his Pulse Rifle to take care of them, though I still felt awkward from the silence around us. Once the swarm was dead, he nodded to the hallway on our left, and we sprinted, hoping to beat Mercer at his own game.

_I wish I had another weapon, _I thought as the two double doors opened to reveal the Hunter again. And this time, he seemed to bring friends with him: two Pregnants walked around the room this time, ready to strike if we moved forward. Since I was defenseless, I remained behind Isaac as he took out the two Pregnants one by one. He didn't hit them in the belly, which was good, and what was even better was that they couldn't enter the hallway we were in. Neither could the Hunter.

Luckily for us, we had a medium air can each, which we used when we found we were beginning to gasp a little too much. Not only were the Pregnants in that room. But one of those demon babies from the Baby Lab showed up as well, which Isaac took care of with no problem.

Still, I couldn't help but wonder what Kendra had found about me. Was it the recordings Mercer left about me during my time there? Or was it something else? I didn't want to think about it.

"_Someone keeps shutting down the door protocol,_" Kendra reported, "_I've bypassed the lock. Go!_"

Isaac tapped my shoulder, and we ran around the Hunter after the engineer slowed it down with Stasis, and we made our way back to the Security Station after being intercepted by another Lurker. I was surprised at how fast we were able to move, for Isaac sprinted over to the Life Support System switch in the corner of the room and reactivated it. With a hiss, all the air returned to the room, and I exhaled in relief.

"Isaac," I said once we could talk again, "I'm sorry I snapped at you before. I know you were only trying to help. Forgive me?" This was surprising. Back at home, I couldn't apologize to the people I knew, yet here I was, hoping that a stranger would forgive me.

However, Isaac didn't reply right away. "Isaac?" I asked, sensing something was wrong, "What's the matter?"

We waited for Kendra's message for us to go back to the Chemistry Lab to pass before the engineer spoke up. "Kendra told me something," he answered, "Something about you."

I was all ears as we about-faced and walked back through the door leading to Imaging Diagnostics. "She did?" I asked, "How did I not hear it?"

"It was when we were trying to turn the Life Support back on. She only transmitted to my line. She told me…she told me that you helped Mercer with his experiments." He looked away for a minute and reloaded his Line Gun.

I was shocked. No, make that _thunderstruck_! Where the hell did Kendra get that information? "_What?_" I gasped, "That's not true! I showed you my scars! I told you what he did to me!"

"According to some files she found, you helped him with the failed Phase One. And you were also responsible for the subject that became known as Phase Three, the Hunter. You kidnapped him and brought him back to Mercer, and then ran away to find more test subjects. That scar on your arm was self-inflicted, in order to accept the DNA from the Necromorphs."

"Whoa, whoa, _whoa_!" I yelled, holding a gloved hand up, "Back up! None of that is true! I swear!"

"Is that why you were really following me?"

"No! You don't believe me, Isaac?"

"I don't know what to believe at this point. No one trusts each other."

I shook my head. _Unbelievable,_ I thought, _This is fucking ridiculous! _"Why would I lie about something like this?" I demanded, "I swear, none of that is true. I never helped that psycho with anything! Even the Stamford Man is better than that!" Sure, I had just stood by Mercer while he was experimenting on Phase One, but what else could I do? He had me handcuffed! I couldn't exactly run away.

"Someone's obviously confused," I added, "Cross my heart and hope to die." I crossed my heart as I said this. Isaac didn't reply, seeing as how he still didn't believe me. But why wouldn't he believe me after all this? Was I really that much of a prick that I wasn't someone who could be taken seriously? I hoped not. I didn't want him to view me as the enemy.

While we continued through the hallways, I thought about that information Kendra had discovered. Where had she gotten that from? I could tell Isaac was none too pleased with me. I had to convince him that I was telling the truth. I had to clear my name somehow. But where would I start? I also remembered when Isaac had told me that he didn't care for Unitologists. I guessed he thought I was one of those "Unitologist bastards", too, as Jacob Temple had put it in one of his audio logs.

As we passed underneath the sliding platform above us, I suddenly received a transmission that I figured was only for me, since Isaac didn't seem to be reacting at all. "_Well, well,_" the familiar voice on the other end greeted, "_Timothy. Phase Two._"

"Fuck you," I hissed in response, "How the hell did you get on this channel?"

Mercer chuckled, which made me angry. Why was he never affected by my words while people in my world cringed at the mere sight of me? "_Hello to you as well, my wayward friend,_" he replied, "_So, do you like what I wrote about you in my journals? I truly appreciate your assistance with my experiments. I couldn't have asked for a better helper than you._"

I widened my eyes in horror. "You bastard!" I snapped, grabbing Isaac's attention, "I _knew _you had to be involved somehow! Why'd you write all that when you know it's not true?"

But before he could answer, I already realized why he had done that. "You're sick!" I gasped, realizing just how devious Challus Mercer could really be. I had to admit he was clever when he could be. I couldn't stand it.

"_I have to admit,_" Mercer replied, "_I didn't think you would live this long without my care._"

"I'll kill you!" I vowed.

"_Not before I kill you._" He hung up, leaving me incensed.

"Asshole," I muttered under my breath as I caught up with Isaac, who didn't bother to ask me what that was all about.

"_Processing Request. Please standby. Final Mixing Complete. Please remove the capsule._" Isaac silently handed me the completed poison, and I knew there would be time to ask questions later. I had to find out what his problem with Unitology was so that I could tell him I had nothing to do with that cult.

"_Let's hope that poison works!_" Kendra said to us, "_Head back to the tram station and get up to Hydroponics as fast as you can! Still no response from Hammond, so be careful. There's no telling how contaminated that deck is!_"

"We're on our way now," Isaac reported, "We'll let you know when we arrive there." Kendra went offline before I could ask her where she had found Mercer's journal. If he had planted it in a convenient place like I suspected he did, then he must have somehow figured out that we would all meet up at some point.

"And speak of the devil," I muttered as Mercer sent another message to both of us this time.

"_I'm beginning to truly admire your spirit," _he complimented, "_Misplaced as it may be. I think…I think you should see the whole plan. You should not spurn the Hive Mind's offerings. You two deserve to witness that, at least._" He disappeared as well before either of us could respond.

"The Hive Mind?" Isaac echoed as the door unlocked in front of us, "What's the Hive Mind?"

"What would Mercer know about that?" I added as we continued on our way to the tram station.

"You don't know what he's talking about, either?" the engineer asked in surprise.

I shook my head. "He never said anything about a Hive Mind to me," I replied. We sprinted through the double doors up ahead, where a freezing chamber, a Stasis Recharge, and frozen Necromorphs in tubes greeted us.

"What is this?" Isaac whispered, readying his Plasma Cutter.

Of course, I glanced in the corner and saw none other than our best friend standing behind the glass as he watched us. "Perhaps now you will understand," Mercer announced, moving out from behind a control panel to face us, "The work I have done must continue. _Will _continue!"

"Not if we can help it!" Isaac growled in response.

"I, Dr. Challus Mercer, shall serve as the catalyst to the salvation of our species!" He raised his hands into the air as if he was preaching to God.

"Man, you need to get laid," I commented. I felt Isaac smack me in the arm in a "Shut up" gesture, but I couldn't help it. I hated Challus Mercer with every fiber of my being.

"These specimens will return to Earth with me," Mercer continued in his madness, "I will spread their divine glory across the entire planet! I'll leave you two with my creation. Embrace the inevitable." Saluting us, he began to walk away.

"Mercer!" Isaac snapped, "Come back here! You can't do this!"

"Embrace this!" I added, giving his back the middle finger.

Suddenly, we heard a loud bang, and when we looked up, the Hunter appeared yet again, flexing his arms and stomping towards us. After using Stasis, Isaac proceeded to dismember him in order to slow him down while I ran around and collected some more supplies. Not only was the Hunter here, but Lurkers also popped out of nowhere, which I burned with my trusty flamethrower as Isaac refilled on his Stasis Module. We both took a considerable amount of damage, but not too serious where we needed to use health packs.

I followed Isaac as he suddenly ran into the freezing chamber and attempted to lure the Hunter in there as well. Just as Phase Three marched towards us, Isaac slowed him down and then ran for the control room Mercer had been in. "In here!" he cried to me, and I followed him as he hurriedly pushed a button on the control panel.

"_Freezing cycle activated,_" a voice announced, "_Freezing cycle successful. Transporting patient._"

"Yes!" I cried as I refueled my flamethrower.

"We did it," Isaac gasped as well.

At that moment, Kendra transmitted to us. "_Let's just hope that's the last we see of that…that thing,_" she said, "_I've managed to override Mercer's lockdown. There's a secondary tram station nearby and you can take it to Hydroponics. Let's just hope there's enough time." _

"Wait, Kendra!" Isaac suddenly piped up, "Before you go, where did you find that information about Timmy? Because he says it's not true!" I nodded vigorously.

"_It was there with that information I relayed to you on the inert DNA sample Mercer was researching._"

"Look, Kendra," I quipped, "I know you and I haven't exactly seen eye to eye so far, but you've got to believe me! Mercer set me up! None of what you read about me is true! He was retaliating because I wouldn't be a part of his experiments." Kendra didn't respond at first, which made me worried.

"_Just get to Hydroponics,_" she ordered, "_We don't have a lot of time. We'll talk about this later._" She hung up just as Isaac and I climbed into the tram and selected the Hydroponics Deck. Luckily for us, this was a very long tram ride, where I could talk to Isaac about everything. Taking off my helmet, I rested it next to me, swung my legs, and sighed.

"Isaac?" I asked, "Why don't you like Unitologists?" I looked away as the engineer set his Plasma Cutter next to him on the seat.

"Are you sure you want to hear the whole story?" Isaac asked in a low voice. I nodded.

"You can trust me," I assured him, "As questionable as my attitude can be at times." That, I realized, was the truth.

Isaac shook his head. "It all started when I last saw my father," he explained, "Paul Clarke. He was a renowned ship builder, so he was often away for long periods of time. The last time I saw him was when I was four. I didn't understand at the time, but he was going away again for an off-world tour. That was what my mother told me later. My father seemed to disappear just like that." He snapped his fingers.

"My mother couldn't handle it very well," the engineer continued, "She tried to be strong for me, but even I could tell she was depressed. She often went to therapy sessions to try and help herself, and they seemed to work for a while. Until the day her therapist told her to join the church of Unitology. To be honest, I didn't think she would get into it as much as she did, but once she joined, she loved it. Sometimes, she would take me to the Unitology sermons and meetings. I never appreciated it like she did, but I didn't dislike it until my senior year of high school." I gulped, sort of seeing where this was going to go.

"How much do you know about Unitology, Timmy?" Isaac asked me before he continued.

"Only that they worship something called the Marker," I replied, "And that they're a little bit out there."

Isaac nodded. "In order to be part of the church," he explained, "You have to pay large sums of money in order to purchase titles, as well as be able to become involved in some of their secrets."

"Oh, no," I gasped, now really seeing where this was going.

"Yeah," Isaac said, "My mother loved Unitology so much that she sold off much of our estate to purchase a Vested-level title. That was pretty high up. That happened around the same time I began to hear back from all sorts of engineering schools, including one really well-known university."

"Practically Ivy League, huh?" I asked as Isaac nodded again.

"It was pretty much an honor to get into that school. I'll never forget it: Haven University for Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. It had been my first choice, and I was accepted! But by then, we were tight on money after my mother had purchased that title, so I couldn't afford the tuition for that school. Instead, I had to attend a different engineering school on financial aid and scholarships." He sounded bitter the whole time he explained this to me, and I could see how that would be upsetting. I decided I wouldn't say a word until he was finished. It was clear he needed to get this off his chest.

"To this day, I still can't believe that church made my mother sell off everything we had. That's why I don't like Unitology." I took a deep breath.

"Whoa," I gasped. This story was much more than I bargained for. Isaac Clarke was practically spilling his whole life story to me.

He could see how overwhelmed I was over all of this. "I know it's a lot to process," he added quickly, "But you asked. I still never heard back from my father, either, and ever since I joined the Merchant Marines and the CEC, I'd been trying to find him. I'm still looking for him now. I wish I could have had more time with him before he just disappeared. I just hope that wherever he is now, he is thinking about me and my mother."

Now I was really silent. This was definitely more than I expected. "Isaac," I replied, "I'm sorry about what's happened to you. Anything I can do to help?"

Isaac shook his head. "There's nothing that can be done at this point," he replied, "But don't take advantage of any family time. That's all I can tell you at this point."

I didn't know what to say to that, to be honest. I thought about the moments right before I landed in this hell, when I had silently mocked my parents when they were trying to feed my baby brother, especially at how sentimental they had gotten. I wished I could take that moment back after everything I had been through right now, and especially after hearing Isaac's story. I shook my head.

"So this is why you don't like Unitology," I muttered, "I'm not one of them, Isaac, no matter what Mercer and Kendra think. As soon as I heard about the cult, I knew I didn't want to be a part of it. That Vested-level title doesn't even sound like it's worth it."

"Believe me, it's not."

I took a deep breath. "Truce?" I asked, offering my hand as the tram slowed down in Hydroponics. Isaac stared down from me to it in doubt at first.

"I promise I won't be an asshole for the remainder of this adventure," I vowed, dramatically waving my injured arm in an attempt to make Isaac laugh a little bit, "And if I am, I give you the right to relieve me of my flamethrower." Isaac chuckled softly, though his helmet distorted the sound.

"Truce," the engineer decided, shaking my hand as we disembarked at Hydroponics. I wondered if he finally believed me that I didn't help Mercer with anything.

"_Welcome to the Hydroponics Deck,_" a voice greeted, but we ignored it as we looked around and I put my helmet back on.

"You know," I piped up as I followed Isaac, "I'm not actually a bad person. Nobody sees it, but it's true."

"Then why are you so arrogant sometimes?" Isaac asked as we continued on our way.

I opened my mouth to say something when a loud coughing noise suddenly grabbed our attention. We readied our weapons and crept forward…only to find Hammond slumped on the floor. He looked out of it. "Hammond!" I shouted.

Hammond opened his eyes and aimed his Pulse Rifle at us feebly. "I-Isaac, Timmy," he choked, "It's good to see both of you in one piece."

"Good to see you alive as well, Hammond," Isaac replied. I nodded in agreement.

"Don't…take…your helmets off," Hammond wheezed, "The air's rotten. I got a look at it. It's huge! You won't believe it…shut itself in food storage!"

"The Leviathan?" I questioned, remembering the name Kendra had said to us in one of her many transmissions back on Medical. Hammond nodded weakly.

"The crew that was on this deck," he whispered, "I think they're what's poisoning the air."

"Kendra said that apparently, Dr. Mercer kidnapped eight of the crew members from this deck and experimented on them," Isaac explained while I looked away.

"Damn," Hammond hissed, "That sounds just about accurate. They've been transformed. I saw one of them, bloated, swollen. The poison factories…we need to take them out while we can still breathe."

"And we will," I assured him. He turned to face me.

"Don't give Isaac a hard time, all right?" he said, coughing as he did so.

"I won't give him a hard time," I replied, "We've reached an agreement. Somewhat."

"That's good."

Suddenly, Kendra showed up on the live feed. "_Hammond!_" she cried, "_I thought you were dead! You need to get cleaner air! You're not going to be able to help Isaac and Timmy in your condition! You two, I'm scanning the area now._"

While we waited for the results, I decided to approach Kendra about earlier. "You said we would talk later," I reminded her, "It's later."

"_Not now, Timmy,_" Kendra hissed, "_Hammond's right. There's something really big in Food Storage, but I can't get a good scan! Monitor readings are off the scale. Be careful!" _She hung up, and I liked her less and less. Why wouldn't she listen to me?

"Let's go," Isaac said to me, "We'll sort everything out later. Take care, Hammond. Get to safety!"

"Thank you, Isaac," Hammond replied, "Thank you for everything you've done so far. You've been a real trooper."

"That he has," I agreed, "Feel better, Hammond." I followed the engineer into Hydroponics, where a monitor depicting the air purity levels showed up. All the blocks were red, which was not a good sign.

Isaac stopped at the store really fast, and while he did that, I decided to answer Isaac's question from before. "I'm a coward," I explained, "I'm afraid that people will see me as less than a man if I showed my fear, so I hide it with my attitude, I guess. But some of it is really how I am. When I was little, people used to make fun of me for showing emotions, so I decided to stop." That was also why I had decided to bulk up a little bit, I remembered. I wouldn't go into any more detail unless it was necessary. Besides, why was I spilling my guts out to a _videogame character, _out of all people?

"I'm not very well liked at school," I admitted as Isaac continued on with his business at the store, "I guess I can be a bit of an ass sometimes." I realized that after what I had been through so far tonight. Kendra pretty much hated my guts, and I wondered if Isaac liked me, either. Or if he didn't, could he at least tolerate me?

"Look, Timmy," Isaac began as he finished and typed something into the Save Station nearby, "I don't think you're a bad person. You've just got a lot to work on."

"I know," I said, "I'm going to try, though. I really am." Did I really mean that? I didn't know. What I did know was that I wanted this nightmare to be over.

As we headed into the West Wing of Hydroponics, Kendra appeared again. "_I suppose I should be glad Hammond's alive,_" she told us, "_But I still don't trust him. I think he's hiding something about the Marker."_

"Whatever the issue is," Isaac spoke up, "You two need to stop fighting. It's not getting us anywhere."

"_It's not like we're intentionally trying to fight. I don't like how secretive he is. Whatever. I'm going to see what else I can find about this ship. Good luck._"

* * *

Wandering through Hydroponics was no walk in the park. Along the way, we encountered a greenhouse full of life…and Necromorphs. We were ambushed the minute the first Lurker made its appearance and shot projectiles at us. We decided to split up and fight separate hordes, and I had to admit we did pretty well. At one point, Isaac had to help me get out of a Slasher's grasp, and I had to torch a Lurker as it repeatedly attacked the engineer.

"We did it!" I shouted as we high-fived again and reloaded our weapons.

"I hear something," Isaac mused, "Stay close. Let's go see what it is." It sounded like someone wheezing, which wasn't a good sign.

We entered Greenhouse A, where the air was green around us, and the timers on our backs began counting down. The wheezing got louder, and when we rounded the corner, we saw something with large bulbs on its back breathing heavily. As soon as Isaac shot it with the Plasma Cutter, the air became clean again, and I breathed a sigh of relief, but still felt guilty. It seemed Phase Three was not the only one Mercer had murdered after all. I balled my hands into fists in anger. How could Mercer do this?

That was pretty much how the rest of this wing went, with us navigating our way through various hallways, and even zero-g environments, in order to kill those enemies we dubbed as "Wheezers". Although at one point, something strange happened.

When we entered one rather bloody room in order to kill the Wheezer in there, Isaac suddenly stopped again not unlike when we were going back to the tram station after restarting the engines. "Nicole," he whispered, "Listen to me. I'm going to make us whole again. Just hang in there. I'll see you in a while!"

I shook my head, feeling a strange thrill of fear for some reason. _There he goes again about Nicole, _I thought. It was time for me to ask him.

"Nicole?" I piped up, "Where?"

"On those monitors!" Isaac replied, pointing ahead of us, "She's sending me a message!"

I glanced at the monitors in question only to find…nothing. What was Isaac talking about?

I remembered the time back on the Engineering Deck when he had received his message from Nicole. I had just brushed it off. Completely harmless, right? However, I hadn't expected it to happen again. _Okay, Isaac, _I thought to myself, _This isn't funny anymore._

We proceeded to take out the Wheezer in this room before two bat-like Necromorphs ambushed us from behind. They went down pretty quickly from Isaac's melee moves, and once we were able to breathe for a minute, I faced the engineer again.

"What else did Nicole have to say?" I asked.

"'_Make us whole again',_" Isaac quoted, "She said the same thing on the Bridge when I was going to activate the Atrium elevators."

I widened my eyes. "You saw her on the Bridge?" I asked in surprise, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you giving me that look you gave me on the Engineering Deck," he retorted as we continued on our way so that we could get to the East Wing.

"What look?" I inquired.

"A confused look. Like you didn't know what I was talking about."

_Now _I remembered. "Well," I began cautiously, "To be honest, you…you looked like you were talking to yourself. It worried me." I looked down at my flamethrower, unsure of how to phrase my next question at first.

"Is everything okay?" I questioned.

"Of course," Isaac assured me, "Let's keep going so that we can poison the Leviathan." He raced ahead of me, and I silently followed him. I decided to put it aside for now. We had just made amends after all this time, and I didn't want us to argue like Kendra and Hammond often bickered at each other. Still, I decided to keep track of how many times Isaac received these messages.

* * *

_**A little while later…**_

_"_Hazardous anomaly detected!" _the usual female voice said as the lights in this dilapidated greenhouse of the East Wing shut off, only leaving flashing yellow lights. A while ago, we had received a warning about a ten kiloton anomaly in Food Storage, which was probably the Leviathan. _

_ An all-too-familiar roar greeted us, and when we spun around, we encountered another Brute, which was charging towards us just like the two on the Bridge had. But this time, we were ready. Using Stasis on the Brute, I ran around to the back and used my newly upgraded Line Gun to shoot the pods on its legs while Timmy torched its arms. _

_ Timmy. So much had happened over these last few hours that it was tough to process it all even as we took down the Brute in front of us. For one, the whole confrontation with Mercer revealed a different side to him, so maybe he wasn't the arrogant person I had come to know. As we continued to travel through Hydroponics, I began to figure he was telling the truth about being set up. I would try to get through to Kendra later about it to ask her some more questions. _

_ Two, his comment from before bothered me. I was not talking to myself! Nicole was there! She was right there on all those damn screens! How could he not notice her? _

_ "Isaac!" Timmy cried, "The Brute's dead!" _

_ "Good," I replied as I picked up the Power Node the Brute had dropped. For the next couple of hours or so, we ran around the East Grow Chamber, euthanizing the rest of the Wheezers and cleaning the air on the Hydroponics Deck. At one point, we had to go through Refrigeration, and I decided to stop at a Save Station for a minute. What were these for, anyway? We seemed to be doing fine now. _

_ Roar! Out of nowhere, another tentacle not unlike the one outside the Centrifuge Room appeared, grabbing me by the ankle and slamming me to the ground. "Damn it!" Timmy hissed, "Not again!" This Drag Tentacle seemed to be more vicious than the first one, so there was nothing I could do but aim as best as I could. _

_ "Ahh!" I cried as I felt the tentacle yank me forward. Aiming my Plasma Cutter at the yellow pod right in the middle, I shot at it a couple of times, even though it still didn't let go. _

_ "Shit," I cursed, reloading quickly and shooting it again, and with another roar, it let go of me and retreated into the hole where it had come from. _

_ "Hopefully that's the last of that fiend," I sighed as Timmy approached me. _

_ "I think it might have been," he agreed, "Let's keep going." _

_ We entered the next zero-gravity environment, where we had to cross through electrically charged areas before we could reach the last Wheezer. After I killed it, Kendra sent us an audio message through our RIGs. _

_ "_That's the last one!" _she announced, "_There's a switch in Atmosphere Control to restart the oxygen cycling. Once the air's clean, you can get into Food Storage."

_ "Finally, some good news," I replied as Timmy nodded silently, refusing to try to speak to Kendra again after the confrontation with Mercer. _

_ But Kendra had more to report. _"Isaac, Timmy,_" she said, "_I've been reading these reports. The crew all began having mass hallucinations. And…well, I just saw my brother on a security monitor. And that's just not possible…_" _

_ "Hallucinations?" Timmy piped up, "Are we all going insane?" _

_ "Calm down, Timmy," I said as soothingly as possible, "We're not losing our minds. Kendra just had one hallucination." He just stared at me without saying a word, which bothered me again for some reason. _

_ After killing three Slashers, we returned to the Atmosphere Control and reactivated the oxygen cycling. Behind that, the round, circular door leading to Food Storage unlocked, to our relief. We entered the long hallway, up to the spot where the poison we had made back in Medical would finally be put to good use. _

_ Along the way, however, my RIG received another audio log. "_Isaac," _Nicole whispered, "_Where are you? Help me!_" She sounded much more frantic than before, which made me worried. _

_ "Nicky!" I cried into my headset, "Listen to me! Just stay calm, wherever you are. I'm not going to let anything happen to you! Understand?" She didn't reply, but knowing her for as long as I did, I knew she understood. _

_ "Isaac, the poison!" Timmy's voice echoed in my ears, and I looked up, took the capsule from Timmy, and inserted it into the control panel next to the door. _

_ It seemed to work its magic, as the tentacles guarding the door disintegrated. However, a rumbling noise greeted us, along with a message from Kendra. "_Damn it!" _she cursed in frustration, "The poison wasn't strong enough! It's still alive! Get in there and kill it before it contaminates the entire ship!_"

"_Wait a minute!" I protested, "You expect us to just go in there by ourselves to kill the Leviathan?" _

_ "_You have to! It's going to contaminate everything! Hurry!_" _

_ "I guess we have no choice," I mumbled, leading Timmy into the room. _

"Entering zero-gravity,_" a voice announced, and both of us felt weightless as I used Kinesis to pull some floating objects towards us. We tiptoed further into the room as the beast in front of us woke up with a loud roar. _

_ "The Leviathan!" Timmy yelled as a few tentacles not unlike the two Drag Tentacles we had encountered appeared. _

_ One of the tentacles slammed onto the ground and began flying towards us. "Jump!" I cried, using the zero-gravity to jump to a safe point. Timmy did the same, but not before the tentacle swiped at him, cutting him across the chest while he was in mid-air. _

_ "Timmy!" I shouted, using my Plasma Cutter, to shoot the yellow pod on the tentacle until it popped, causing the beast to retreat and send out another tentacle. Timmy caught up with me as he took deep breaths and refilled his health. _

_ "Are you okay?" I asked. He nodded. _

_ "Damn Leviathan," the teenager muttered, clutching his chest as the Leviathan struck again from our side. We jumped to the other side of the room before taking out the other two tentacles and causing the room to turn red all around us. The Leviathan roared, opening its mouth and hurling organic bombs at us. _

_ "Look out!" Timmy shouted, but I quickly used Kinesis to hurl each of the bombs back at the monster's mouth. While it was getting ready to spit another one out, I switched to the Pulse Rifle to shoot the bombs while they were still in its mouth. Whatever I was doing, it seemed to work, as the Leviathan seemed to get weaker and weaker every minute. _

_ "Look!" I cried, "More tentacles! Timmy, think you can handle those while I continue to shoot at the mouth?" _

_ "I think so," Timmy replied, "Go for it!" He saluted and began to jump around the room while avoiding the tentacles while I concentrated on the bombs coming out of its mouth. This monster was strong, but over the next five minutes or so, the Leviathan finally went down. My ears rang after the loud noise from the Leviathan and the sounds from our tools. _

_ "_Isaac, Timmy!_" Kendra cheered in happiness, "_You did it! Hammond, do you read? Oxygen levels are returning to normal. Damn it! He's gone again! No sign of his RIG anywhere! It's up to us now. I've got a plan to get off this ship! I've located an SOS beacon on the Mining Deck. If you can get down there and activate it, we might be able to send a distress call. Oh, God. I don't know how much longer that door can hold…_" _

_ "Hang in there, Kendra," I said to her, "You can make it. We've made it this far, right?" _

_ "_You're right. I'll keep in touch with you at the Mining Deck."_ She went away, and I gestured to Timmy as we returned to the tram station. Everything we had learned here resonated with me. Hallucinations? Timmy thinking I was talking to myself? It just didn't make any sense! We needed answers, and we needed them now! _


	8. Acting Out

I'd like to thank .-SnipingWolf for her review, as well as anyone else who has been reading so far! I really appreciate it! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy is mine. All other characters, as well as dialogue from the audio and video logs, belong to Visceral Games and EA. Any other plot ideas not previously conceived are mine.

_Italics- _Isaac's POV

* * *

Was it wrong to admit that I was worried about Isaac?

As we made our way over to the Mining Deck on the tram, I glanced at him as he reloaded his Pulse Rifle after the big battle with the Leviathan. It wasn't that I was worried about him still being angry with me. No. I was worried about _him_. He had spoken with Nicole two times while we were in Hydroponics, but I just couldn't figure out how. Wouldn't I have seen Nicole on those monitors? I could understand her only transmitting to his line with the audio logs, but the monitors? Something wasn't right about this.

And I wasn't trying to be an ass, even though I knew I could be at times. Isaac really did seem like he was talking to himself. I decided not to talk about it with him, though, despite the fact that I knew this was a potential problem I couldn't just ignore. It was clear this was a touchy subject, so I wouldn't approach it unless either he talked about it or there was a new discovery about the crisis on this ship.

"_Welcome to the Mining Deck,_" the usual female, English voice greeted us as we climbed out into the station.

"The Mining Deck…" Isaac echoed, "I knew a lot of the crew members that worked here."

I patted his shoulder in sympathy.

Suddenly, Kendra appeared on the live feed. "_This might be our last chance of getting out of here alive, you two," _she said, "_There's an asteroid loaded up in the mining bay waiting to be smelted. If you attach the SOS beacon to it, you can launch it away from the ship to make a clean broadcast. The beacon's on the Maintenance sub-deck. You can launch the asteroid from the control room." _

"Yet more ordering us around," I mumbled just out of both their ear shots.

"_Damn,_" Kendra cursed, "_The control room is locked. It looks like they keep an emergency access key on the Processing sub-deck. Couldn't be easy, could it? I don't know how much more of this I can take._"

"Speak for yourself," Isaac mused, sending me into fits of silent laughter at the honesty of his words.

Kendra narrowed her eyes. "_Very funny,_" she responded before going offline.

"I was thinking the same thing, Isaac," I told him, "At least she's safe in her little computer room while we're risking our lives out here."

Isaac nodded. "I just hope we find Nicole soon," he sighed, "I just want this all to be over." Nicole. There he was, talking about her again. I closed my mouth before I said anything stupid.

We continued through the moldy hallways until we arrived at a room with a Save Station, a Store, and a Bench in it. For the next several minutes, we upgraded our weapons and health, bought some more items at the Store, and typed information into the Save Station close by. We then made our way over to the elevator, and we saw that two of the floors were accessible. "Damn," Isaac hissed, "Looks like Deck C is out."

"Okay," I said, yawning a little bit, "Should we go with B or D? I don't have a coin for a coin toss, though."

Isaac chuckled quietly and then considered it for a minute. "I say we go with D," he decided, "Let's see if we can find that beacon first."

"Good idea." I refueled my flamethrower and followed him onto the elevator. This was a long trip down to the Maintenance Deck, so we stood quietly as we waited to arrive at our destination.

Suddenly, the elevator began to shake, and soon, a few Slashers leaped down to our level and ambushed us, which we took out with no problem. The whole time, I wondered how Mercer was handling the fact that we had frozen his precious creation back in Medical, as well as how we were still alive despite the circumstances. I laughed to myself; we were outsmarting him. _I _was outsmarting him, despite the fact that he kept telling me I wouldn't survive.

Once the ambush was over, we arrived at the Maintenance Deck, and as soon as we got out, we saw another bat-like Necromorph infecting a corpse down the hallway from us. An Infector, we decided to dub it.

Isaac quickly killed the Infector and then an Enhanced Slasher we had overlooked before detonating an organic bomb that was in the corner. "Look, an audio log," I announced, bending down to pick it up so that we could listen to it. What we heard surprised us.

"_Dr. Kyne!_" a voice cried, "_What the hell are you…ahh!_"

"_Get back! Come any closer and... and I'll shoot him! Give me the access codes to the cargo bay!" _

"Crap," I muttered, "He's holding someone _hostage?_" _My God, he's lost it! _I couldn't help but think to myself.

"Sounds like it," Isaac replied as we continued to listen.

"_You...idiot!_" another man snapped,_ "This is... processing! Why the hell... would I have codes... to cargo?_"

"_Don't lie to me!_" Kyne roared,_ "I'm sick of everyone lying to me! It is imperative that I get the Marker! Give me those codes!" _

"_I don't... have them! Is this... what you did... to the Captain? Go on...shoot me if you've got...the balls!" _

"Is he actually going to do it?" Isaac wondered.

"This is Terrence Kyne we're talking about," I whispered back, "Who knows with him?"

Kyne spoke up again. "_IDIOTS!" _he thundered,_ "It's the only way to stop it...The only way to end this!"_

"_He's completely lost it!_" the other man gasped,_ "Somebody call security!" _That was where the audio log ended. At first, neither of us could say anything, until I spoke up again.

"So," I began, "Was that before or after he stabbed Matthius in the eye?"

"Sounds like it was after that," the engineer replied, "And you said he left you to go find Amelia?"

I nodded. "Yes," I said, "But according to Mercer, she's dead."

"But Mercer also said he was suffering from hallucinations." _Hmm, _I thought. We had a real mystery on our hands now.

* * *

_The next room reminded me of the gondolas we had encountered on the Engineering Deck. As soon as we opened the door to the room, a whining noise greeted us. Right next to Timmy was a corpse on the wall, and it seemed to be in agony. _

_ "Just like those annoying Guardians we've been seeing everywhere," Timmy commented as I put the man out of his misery. I then moved towards the gondola and used Kinesis to pull it towards us. Once everything was set up, I motioned to Timmy. _

_ "Let's go," I said, pressing the button to carry us across the chasm. A few Lurkers and pods similar to those from the Guardians surprised us along the way, and since I had the Line Gun, I used that to defeat them. Timmy stayed close the whole time, watching as I dismembered each Necromorph one by one and used Kinesis to pick up the items they dropped. When we arrived on the other side, the gondola stopped, but didn't open to let us get off. _

_ "Oh, mighty Altman!" Timmy called dramatically, as always, "Let us off this gondola!" He waved his hands in the air again, which made me snort into my own hands. _

_ "You're too much," I commented. However, what happened next took us both by surprise. _

_ "Isaac?" a familiar voice cried, "Is that really you?" I whirled around to see none other than Nicole stepping out from behind a wall. _Yes! _I thought, feeling a smile spread across my face. Nicole was here! She was alive and well! I knew she would pull through! _

_ "Yes, Nicky," I replied, using her favorite nickname, "It's me. It's Isaac!" _

_ "It feels like it's been so long!" Nicole gasped. _

_ "It has!" I agreed, "I'm glad to see you, though. You look good!" _

_ "Thank you," Nicole replied, "But I can help you now. Come with me!" She waved and then walked away. _

_ "We'll be right there!" I shouted back. This was awesome! Words couldn't even begin to describe how happy I was. The gondola opened, and I skipped a little bit as I ran around and collected the various items on the shelves. _

_ "Come on, Timmy!" I cried to him as he slowly got off the gondola. _

_ "Uhh, yeah," he replied, "Sure thing, Isaac." He ambled through the door up ahead, and I followed suit. _

_ "The Beacon's in the storage room next to you," Nicole explained, pointing at the door next to us, "I think I can disable the lock from here! Hold on!" _

_ "Got it!" I replied happily, "I'll wait for you to finish." Nicole nodded and walked over to a control panel next to her, bent over it, and began working her magic on the locked room. This was great! Nicole was alive and well! I knew she would pull through! _

_ Timmy didn't say a word the whole time, which I thought was strange. Any time he met someone new, he often made some smartass comment or another. Not this time, though. Probably because it was my girlfriend. _

_ Suddenly, a Slasher popped out of the vent to the right and began to crawl towards Nicole. "No!" I shouted, "Leave her alone!" Switching to my Pulse Rifle, I began to hurriedly dismember the Slasher that was waltzing towards my girlfriend. No! I was not going to lose her again! The Necromorph was down, thank goodness. However, that wasn't the last of the beasts. _

_ A few more appeared while Nicole continued to disable the lock. To my right, Timmy kept glancing at the door. "Uh, Isaac?" he began, tugging on my arm. I shrugged him off. _

_ "Not now, Timmy," I snapped, "I'm trying to defend Nicole." _

_ "But Isaac-" Timmy began, but I cut him off. _

_ "Timmy!" I replied, "Nicole needs me right now. Don't distract me from killing these Necromorphs." He took off his helmet for a second and frowned. He didn't say anything else after that. _

_ More Necromorphs poured into the control room, constantly swiping at Nicole, which made me furious. I didn't care what they did to me, but if they even so much as scratched my girlfriend, I would dismember them. I wouldn't let anything, not even Timmy, stand in the way of me protecting Nicole. Nicole remained hunched over the controls as she continued to disable the door. _

_ I felt Timmy tap me on the shoulder. "I told you!" I growled at him, "I'm trying to protect my girlfriend!" _

_ "Isaac!" Timmy shouted, "The door!" _

_ "I know!" I replied, "She's working on it." _

_ "Isaac-" _

_ "She's got it under control, Timmy. There's nothing to worry about." _

_ Timmy reached for my arm. "Isaac," he repeated for a third time, "If you'd just listen to me-" _

_ "STOP IT!" I roared, reaching out and slapping Timmy across the face with enough force to cause him to fall to the ground. His mouth hung open in shock as he rubbed his stinging cheek, which was turning red where I had slapped him. Luckily, Nicole was finished unlocking the door now. _

_ "Okay, the door is unlocked, Isaac," she announced, facing me again, "I can't get over to you, but I'll find a way. I love you. This will all be over soon." _

_ "I love you, too, Nicky," I responded as she walked out of the control room. I sighed and reloaded my Pulse Rifle after using Kinesis to grab more items from the dead Slashers. _

_ I turned to face Timmy, who was still massaging his cheek. I advanced towards him to help him up when he threw a hand in the air. "Don't," he growled, "I can pick myself up, thanks." He picked himself up and narrowed his eyes at me. _

_ "What the hell was that about?" he demanded, "Why'd you slap me like that?" _

_ "Because you were getting in the way of me saving Nicole! She needed me and you were getting in the way!" _

_ Timmy widened his eyes in shock. "Getting in the way?" he echoed, "Isaac, did you even hear yourself just now? You were talking to yourself again! I was just trying to tell you that that door was never locked in the first place!" _

_ "What are you talking about?" I demanded, "She said she was trying to disable the lock!" Timmy refused to comment, but he looked away instead to where Nicole had been. _

_ "Timmy?" I growled, "What are you implying? Are you suggesting that I'm…I'm starting to see things like Kendra did a while ago?" _

_ "No," Timmy retorted, shaking his head, "All I know is that you keep going on and on like this and it's starting to scare me! Why are you acting like this, Isaac?" _

_ What in God's name was he talking about? Acting like what? I wasn't acting like anything! He was the one getting bent out of shape over this, not me. "Look," I huffed, "Let's not talk about this anymore. We just made amends a while ago. We've got to find that beacon and the access key." Timmy stayed put where he was. _

_ "I think I'll stay here until you calm down a little bit," he quipped, planting his feet firmly on the ground. I glanced over at the red handprint on his cheek, and I felt bad. I didn't mean to slap him like that. I just didn't want anything to happen to Nicole. But Timmy would never understand, as it didn't seem like he had a girlfriend. Shrugging, I entered the room, collected some items, and picked up the SOS beacon. _

_ "I've got the beacon!" I announced to Kendra. _

_ "_Hey," _Kendra replied,_ "I lost your signal for a while. You had me worried. I see you've got the beacon, so head for the mining bay after you find the access key and attach it to the asteroid. I've been running trajectory calculations and if we launch soon, there's a good chance the asteroid can reach a safe distance to begin transmitting! Still no sign of Hammond. In his state, I can't imagine he's still alive..."

"_I think he is," I assured her in a hopeful voice. After seeing Nicole alive, despite what Timmy had said, I had a good feeling about our Commander as well. _

_ "_I hope so," _was all Kendra said before she hung up. Now it was time to go find that key. I returned to the hallway outside, where Timmy was still standing and caressing his cheek. He didn't say a word to me as we traveled back the way we came on the gondola. _

* * *

Man, had this been a major turn of events or what?

Now I was even more worried about Isaac than I had been before. He had slapped me when I was trying to tell him about the door to the storage room. He had actually fucking laid a hand on me! How could he do that? I was just trying to be helpful! My cheek stung like hell, even as I slipped my helmet back on. I kept my eyes on the path ahead of us as the engineer took on all the Lurkers and pods on both sides of us. Once he was finished with that, he faced me.

"Timmy," he began, "I'm sorry I hit you back there. I didn't mean anything by it."

Now I faced him. "You didn't?" I asked, letting a little bit of sarcasm seep through, "Believe me, I've been roughed up worse than that since I've been here. But I was just trying to help you. As a friend."

Up ahead, two Slashers appeared, and after we took them out, Isaac replied, "Friend?"

"Yes, friend!" I insisted, "You're one of the only ones I've got and I hate that you're going through this! Nobody else has ever stuck by me for this long." Isaac didn't say anything at first.

"I'm not perfect," I continued, "You've seen that. But I know a good friend when I see one." I typed something into the Save Station while the engineer considered my words.

"We've had our fights," I added, "But we always stuck together."

"I know," he replied, "And we should continue to stick together. But believe me, Nicole was helping me before. You know that. I'm just glad she's all right." I just gaped at him, not knowing what to say to that. I didn't see anything back there and I didn't know what this could have meant.

"You're right," I said, "Let's not talk about this anymore and just agree to disagree about…about that." We continued on our way back to the elevator after killing a Slasher that was trying to play dead.

Deck B: Processing wasn't too bad from what we saw, except for the fact that we were attacked as soon as we stepped into the room. A flew Slashers and a Pregnant raced towards us, but due to our quick thinking, we disposed of them all. Moving forward through the murky hallways, we noticed a hole in the wall, which we climbed through to reach an opening on the other side. "_Entering zero-gravity,_" we heard the system announce.

"Look over there," Isaac whispered to me, pointing at an electronic board that indicated that there were four anomalies preventing gravity from being restored.

"So now what?" I asked.

"Wait here," he commanded, "I'll destroy them." Two of them were in our line of sight, which he used Kinesis in order to move them into the path of the gravity beam. Along the way, a few Lurkers and Leapers popped out at us, which we had to contend with before moving on. Once they were down, Isaac used zero-gravity to jump all around the room as he destroyed the other two boulders.

"Over here!" he cried to me, and I jumped over to the control panel where he was just as he reactivated the gravity in the room. Although I was getting used to the transition, I still felt weird as I felt myself slow down as I ran.

A horde of Necromorphs showed up, of course, some being the usual Slashers and Pregnants and the others being those Exploders we had first spotted back in Hydroponics. Their howls made my hairs stand on end as Isaac blasted them into oblivion. He then motioned to me as we entered the room up ahead to find the mining key at last. "Finally," I sighed as Kendra relayed to us again.

"_That's the key, you two_," she said, "_It'll get you into the Control Room so you can launch the asteroid. Don't forget to attach the beacon first! I read another report on the colonist's dementia. It seemed to start after they removed the Marker from the planet. God knows how long it was down there._"

"Do you think that accounts for the dementia afflicting the crew on the _Ishimura?_" Isaac asked, clearly remembering Mercer's audio log in his office.

"_That seems plausible to me,_" Kendra answered, "_I saw my brother before, even though it isn't possible._"

"I haven't hallucinated anything," I piped up.

"Neither have I," Isaac agreed.

"_Hmm,_" Kendra hummed, "_Interesting…_" She disappeared after that.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Isaac whispered, leading me back to the elevator.

* * *

_**An elevator ride, a Store and Bench visits, and transferring a battery to our destination elevator later…**_

When we arrived downstairs, we heard a distant creaking sound, and I wondered what that was. A Stasis Recharge was conveniently placed here, as were a million storage boxes. When we opened the round, circular door ahead of us, the first thing we saw was the asteroid, and all around it were semi-circular metal rings that rotated back and forth quite loudly.

"_Entering zero gravity._"

"What the hell?" I cried, "How are we supposed to get past this?"

"Leave it to me," Isaac replied after seeing that his navigator was pointing him towards the asteroid that had "death" written all over it, "Stay here, okay? I'd better do this one on my own." I nodded and watched as he made his way over to the gravity tether behind us, slowed it down with Stasis, and shot it, effectively destroying it. All the while, three Enhanced Leapers attacked, which I took care of with the flamethrower as Isaac jumped to the other gravity tether and destroyed it. I then watched as he waited for the rotating semi-rings to start moving as he jumped towards the asteroid.

"Shit, Isaac!" I cried, my heart rate picking up as I watched him land on the infernal contraption. He then sprinted quickly until he disappeared on the other side just as the rings started rotating again. _Whew, _I thought, wiping my forehead, _He made it._ Now all I had to do was wait for him to come back.

This room was still noisy, which I was actually thankful about, thank God. Along the way, I heard my RIG go off, and to my surprise, it was Kendra in a live video log.

"_Hey,_" she began, "_Are you okay, Timmy? You've been awfully quiet since you left Hydroponics._"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured her, but then I realized I was telling a blatant lie.

"Well, no, I'm not," I admitted, "It's Isaac. I'm…I'm worried about him." Kendra just frowned as she waited for me to continue explaining myself, though why I was confiding in her when we didn't like each other was a mystery. A few minutes later, however, I figured out why.

"I think…I think he's starting to lose his mind," I continued slowly, "Back on the Engineering Deck, he claimed he received an audio message from Nicole. _Then_, he told me she was sending him messages through some of the monitors that were around. And a little while ago…he hit me when I was trying to tell him about the door to the storage room where the beacon was. I've been trying to dismiss it, but I can't ignore it anymore. Isaac's starting to scare me and I…I don't know what to do." Back at home, I was not well-known for asking others for help, but I realized that didn't matter right now; this was not something I could deal with on my own. If only I could somehow talk to my parents; they would know what to do.

"_He hit you?_" Kendra echoed, "_Oh my God. It sounds serious. What about you? Have you had any hallucinations?_"

I shook my head. "No," I assured her, "But I don't know what to do about Isaac."

"_Try getting him to understand where you're coming from. You both need to keep a clear head during all this. There's a chance that he'll listen to you._"

"And there's a chance he might not," I retorted, "He already hit me once."

"_Keep trying. Just stay calm, and everything will be all right._"

"I'll try," I mumbled, "Thanks, Kendra." I took a deep breath and then thought about something else.

"You don't have to be so nice to me, you know," I added, "I was an ass to you back in Engineering."

"_Yeah, you were,_" she agreed, "_But you seem a lot different now._"

"Why did you tell Isaac all that shit about me, anyway?" I asked, now that I knew Kendra was on my side with the whole Isaac situation, "Mercer planted fake information about me and you didn't want to listen before!"

"_I had my reasons,_" she replied, "_I still do." _

"What are those reasons?"

"_The same reason I don't trust Hammond._"

I was floored. "You thought I had information on the _Marker?_" I fumed, "Kendra!"

"_Sorry, Timmy,_" she apologized, "_But I couldn't risk it. I see now that you're not like Mercer at all." _

"Of course I'm not like him!" I snapped, "I never _was _like that nut job!"

"_I truly hope you're referring to Dr. Kyne and not myself,_" Mercer's voice suddenly interrupted, cutting Kendra off in midsentence. Her face was gone on the video log and replaced by his. And he looked none too pleased. What else was new?

"You!" I hissed, "What do you want?" I glanced up at the asteroid and saw that Isaac was slowly making his way back to me.

"_Imagine finding out that two pathetic humans not unlike you and the engineer managed to outsmart my creation." _I remained silent.

"Yeah, we did," I replied, smirking to myself, "You thought you were clever back there, didn't you? We're winning, Mercer. We're beating you at your own game!"

"_So I have noticed. Enjoy your victory, Phase Two. While you still can._"

"Bring it on," I challenged him as he disappeared, leaving me with Kendra once again.

"_He really has it in for you, doesn't he?_" she commented.

"That's what I was trying to tell you before," I replied, "But you didn't believe me."

"_Fine,_" Kendra sighed, "_I have to go now. I've got to check on a few things to do with this ship._" She disappeared as Isaac ran back over to my side.

"The Beacon's ready to go," he announced. I nodded.

"Good," I said, "Let's go launch it." We jogged out of the room and back the way we came, taking the battery out of the elevator and bringing it back to the other elevator while avoiding the flames shooting out at us. We were a little singed by the time we reached the other room, but in good spirits nonetheless. I was a little rattled by Mercer's surprise message, but I decided not to let it bother me.

We made our way upstairs, and after getting rid of the small swarm at the base of the elevator, we used the mining key to get into the Control Room, where the large window opened up ahead of us. After collecting the few items in the room, Isaac activated the asteroid and sent it on its way into space. "Yes!" I cried, pumping my fist into the air.

Kendra seemed to agree with me. "_Beacon's on its way!_" she announced, "_All functions normal, and broadcasting wide band._"

"All right!" Isaac cheered, "We did it!"

"_Now we just have to hope somebody's listening. I'll position the array receiver. I thought I saw my brother again. He waved to me, like nothing was wrong." _She sighed wistfully and then returned to business.

"_Okay, I should be able to leave this channel open…what? The Comms Array Receiver isn't responding! Isaac, Timmy, can you get back to the Bridge? We need that array online or we can't receive signals from anyone responding to the beacon!_"

"I guess we better do that, then," Isaac decided, "I hope we run into Hammond again at some point."

"Me, too," I agreed, "He's starting to grow on me."

However, as we turned to leave, alarms went off, yellow lights began to flash, and all the doors locked as a familiar voice announced, "_Hazardous anomaly detected. Quarantine activated._"


	9. No Mercy in Hell

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy is mine. Everyone else, as well as any dialogue from audio and video logs, belongs to Visceral Games and EA. Any other dialogue is mine.

**_Bold and Italics- _**Third-person POV

_Italics- _Dream sequence, audio transmissions, video transmissions

**

* * *

**

**My child**_**, Mercer thought in agony as he circled the chamber the Hunter was frozen in, **_**My creation. Thwarted**_**! He couldn't believe it when this capsule had arrived in his safe haven. Timmy and Isaac had actually managed to outsmart the Regenerating Necromorph? That was impossible! This went against everything he believed in about his species: his belief that humans were weak, that their time was ending, and that transforming into a Necromorph was the key to salvation. **_

_**So far, it seemed that Isaac Clarke and Timothy Stamford were proving him wrong, and he couldn't stand it. Should I be worried about these two? He wondered to himself, Perhaps. In his last conversation with Timmy, it had been clear that the sixteen-year-old wouldn't go down without a fight, and Isaac…well, that was pretty self-explanatory. Mercer was surprised both of them had managed to live this long already, and if they escaped the Ishimura altogether, that would be even more shocking. He hated to admit it, but these two actually had a slim chance of getting out of this alive. These thoughts surprised him the most out of everything so far. **_

_**Did this mean that he liked Isaac and Timmy? Of course not! They had frozen the Hunter. They had managed to avoid their fates for now. But he realized that he had a significant amount of respect for both of them, as misguided as they were in their little adventure. Most of the other crew members had killed themselves out of despair because he had convinced them to do so. Not Isaac. His test subjects, while putting up a fight, had eventually given in to their fates. Not Timmy. **_**These two are unbreakable**_**, he thought, shaking his head, **_**But that will all change very soon**_**. He would break them. He would make sure they didn't survive for the rest of their adventure. But first, he would try and weaken their will to live for a little bit. **_

_**"Ahh!" he suddenly heard Timmy gasp, and he looked up at the cameras to see that he and Isaac were caught in another quarantine on the Bridge again. The young boy was clutching his arm, the one Mercer had cut open to insert a small sample of the Necromorph tissue. **_

_**"Are you okay?" Isaac asked after killing two Exploders right next to one another. **_

_**Timmy continued to clutch his arm. "I don't know," he replied, "My arm's killing me." He then yelped in pain again. **_

_**"God damn it!" he cursed, "It's getting worse!" **_

_**"Stay close to me and don't die!" Isaac commanded, "And take this." He handed Timmy a medium medical pack, which the teenager accepted and began trying to use to heal his arm. **_**There is no cure for you, my friend**_**, Mercer thought, smirking as he glanced at the frozen Hunter again**_.

* * *

The pain. It was too much. As Isaac took out the Enhanced Slashers and Enhanced Leapers in the area, I stopped using my flamethrower and tended to my arm instead, which started experiencing sharp pains not too long after the quarantine started a while ago. As of now, we were on our way to fix the Comms Array due to the fact that a ship called the _USM Valor_ had picked up our distress signal, but couldn't talk to us because of the broken Comms Array. With the way my arm was throbbing, I wasn't sure if I would be able to help out with anything. Once the quarantine was lifted, I removed that part of the suit where my scars were and discovered something horrible: the brown skin I had noticed back in Medical had spread close to my elbow joint. _Shit_, I thought, _When the hell did this happen_?

"That bastard must have infected me with Necromorph tissue while I was knocked out after trying to run away from him," I deduced as we continued onward, climbing onto the Atrium Elevator and riding it up to the third floor.

"I wonder if there's a way to get rid of it," Isaac pondered.

"I don't know," I replied, "But we can try to find a way. It might be waiting for me to die before it can truly infect me."

"You know what to do," Isaac assured me, "You've been handling yourself pretty well here."

"Thanks to you," I admitted gratefully, "If you hadn't helped me out, I'd probably be dead by now." That time, I realized I meant what I said. And even if Isaac Clarke seemed like he was starting to lose his mind a little bit, I would stick with him until the end for everything that he's done for me.

As the elevator approached the third floor, Isaac nodded and commented, "You've definitely changed. You're growing up. Slowly but surely. I knew you weren't always arrogant." I waved him off.

"Of course not," I replied, "But I'm going to try and work on that." I felt Isaac pat me on the shoulder as he typed something into the Save Station up ahead.

"AHHHHH!" a familiar voice shrieked, and when we rounded the corner, we spotted not one, but two Guardians on either side of the door up ahead.

"Oh, great," I grumbled, "These guys are so annoying!"

"I know," Isaac agreed, "Let's take care of them." Whipping out his Line Gun, he severed the tentacles that kept the Guardians attached to the wall, and used the alternate firing mode to take care of the pods that had sprouted from the Necromorphs. Some of them managed to hit us with projectiles, but we eventually took them out, as well as the Guardians. As their howls faded, everything went silent again, and I reflected on how grateful I was that neither one of us was going through this alone. That, I imagined, would have been terrifying.

The first thing we noticed when we went through the door up ahead was a man taking his last breath on the floor in front of us. "No," I whispered as Isaac sighed in regret. It always seemed like we were too late to help anyone else.

When we took a step forward, however, another howling noise stopped us. _Ooooohhhhhh_! "What the fuck was that?" I whispered, the flamethrower shaking in my hands.

"God only knows," Isaac whispered back, "Get ready and fire when I tell you to." I gulped and nodded, though I could tell Isaac was nervous, too. We tiptoed closer, Isaac readying his new Ripper that he had gotten a while ago and me whipping out the Flamethrower. _Ooooohhhhhh_! My hairs stood on end at the depressing sound. Following that noise was the sound of feet sloshing on the ground.

With another growl, the source of the sound finally appeared from around the corner. It was thin and bony, and it stood at about seven feet, from the looks of it. It moaned again as it slowly approached us, feet sloshing on the floor. "Holy shit!" I cried as Isaac immediately began cutting it with some Ripper Blades. While we attacked, the Necromorph charged towards us, chasing us back out into the hallway.

"This thing knows no boundaries!" Isaac cried as he aimed the Ripper at the monster's legs, successfully killing it and splitting it up into mini Necromorphs.

"Oh, not these guys again," I groaned as a few components crawled around on the floor, including the skull with tentacles I had first encountered when I landed here. Isaac moved forward and used Stasis on the little critters before he took them out as well. I sighed in relief when they were all dead.

"Are you sure you're just an engineer and not secretly a soldier?" I teased as we continued on our way, "You seem like you know what you're doing."

Isaac shook his head. "I'm no soldier," he admitted, "I was just sent here for a repair job, and what I got instead was this adventure."

I nodded. "I know how that feels," I replied, "I never thought I would find myself strapped to a lab table with a guy who would try and cut me open." Isaac just stared at me.

"I bet you're wondering what it was like to survive Challus Mercer's experiments, huh?" I continued as we stopped at the Bench up ahead and upgraded our weapons and RIGs, "Since you told me about your parents."

"Only if you want to talk about it," Isaac insisted.

"I do," I told him, "I've been told that if I talk about my experiences, I'll feel better." Mom had told me that during the days when I was bullied, and I silently thanked her for her support.

"It was like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from," I explained, "I kept telling myself to wake up, and I kept closing my eyes, but every time he would slice my arm or inject something into my stomach, I realized it wasn't a dream. I was so scared the whole time. I thought I was going to die, but I didn't want to feel like I was less than a man if I showed that I was scared. I never screamed, either. I think it was because I thought about my brother. I even pictured him and my family a few times throughout the whole ordeal to make myself feel better. I thought about the good times I had with them as a kid. It made the pain go away for a little while, though it just returned later. But it was still gone for a while. And that's my story." I looked away as Isaac finished at the Bench.

"What I still wonder is if it's really my fault that all those people were murdered after I ran away," I continued. Isaac moved to stand in front of me.

"He's not right all the way," the engineer said firmly, "It's not your fault. He was probably going to murder those innocent crew members anyway, even if you hadn't run." I stared up at him in horror, and realized that he was right.

"As soon as he killed me…" I muttered to myself, "That bastard! He was just trying to guilt trip me into going back! I don't believe this!" I typed something into the Save Station next to us before we moved on to the elevator next to us. Where it would take us, we didn't know.

"How are you?" I asked him cautiously as we climbed onto a cart that began zooming through the long tunnel up ahead, "Are you…feeling okay?"

Isaac faced me just as he picked up another audio log. "Of course," he replied incredulously, "Why wouldn't I be?"

I shrugged. "No reason other than me learning how to show concern for others," I said, half-telling the truth. The other half wanted to know if he was still hearing from Nicole.

As we climbed onto the cart, Isaac began to play the audio log. "_Communications log, First Comms Operator Bailey reporting_," Operator Bailey reported, "_The ship is under attack, but requests to issue a distress call have been repeatedly denied by Captain Mathius. He won't say it, but everyone on the bridge knows why-this is an illegal operation in a prohibited system. We've all known for months, and we kept our mouths shut. Not anymore_."

"What the hell?" I muttered, "The C.E.C has been running illegal operations? You didn't tell me that, Isaac!"

But the recording did not end there. "_Mayday, mayday, mayday! This is USG Ishimura, this is-what the hell? __I don't believe this! The whole Comms system is offline! Now he's gone too far... Bailey out_." As the recording ended, I glanced at the engineer again.

"So you work for a corporation that's taking part in illegal actions?" I asked, "Why didn't you say anything? I wouldn't have told anyone." I wasn't angry with him, but I was surprised. Isaac Clarke was a nice guy. I didn't think he would take part in something like this.

"It's more complicated than that," Isaac explained, "The Earth Government is paying us to keep quiet about the whole thing. We know it's wrong, but they've made us swear to keep our mouths shut."

"Heh," I scoffed, "Who does this Earth Government think they are, anyway? Getting nice people like you involved in all of this?"

"Many things they do aren't right. But they're powerful." I sighed. Thank God the government where I was didn't act like that!

When the gondola arrived at our destination, we suddenly heard the usual English voice announce, "_Communications array offline. A service technician has been notified_."

"HA!" I laughed, "Service technician meaning us?" Isaac chuckled quietly.

"I think that's exactly what they mean," he replied as Kendra transmitted to us.

"_That Comms Array is in bad shape_," she announced, "_We need at least six working dishes for a strong enough signal. Make sure they're aligned symmetrically so there are no power gaps_."

"Anything to get us off this ship," Isaac replied as she went away.

* * *

_**A fixed Comms Array later**_…

After going to the Save Station again, Isaac approached the now fixed Comms Array and activated it. In front of us, brilliant white beams began to shoot out everywhere as a foreign video log popped up in front of us.

"_This is the_ USM Valor, _widecasting on all frequencies to_ USG Ishimura _in response to your SOS_," the Comm Operator announced, "_We've picked up your escape pod number 47, and are en route to your position. This message will repeat every thirty seconds until you respond_."

"I wonder how long this message has been repeating for," I mused, but Isaac didn't answer as he froze in horror.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

I guessed that Isaac was probably frowning as he muttered, "Wait a minute…"

"Isaac, what is it?"

But Kendra cut in before he could answer. "_What_!" she shrieked, "_Isn't that the escape pod Hammond jettisoned? One of those things was onboard! No! No, this isn't going to happen_!"

"Damn it!" Isaac cursed, "I was thinking the same thing!"

"_I'm going to try to get in contact with the Valor now. Just hang tight_!" We both heard the sound of her typing at a computer.

"USM Valor! _Come in _Valor! _Our signal isn't strong enough. I'm going to open the blast doors to boost the signal_."

"Oh, great," I snapped, "What else can go wrong?"

"_Error: blast door blockage detected. Please contact a repair technician_."

"_That_," Isaac fumed, burying his face into his hands.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I cried.

"_Shit_!" Kendra cursed, "_Isaac, Timmy, there's something big on the hull of the ship, directly above the Comms Array. Something organic. I don't know what it is, and I don't care. We have to get the doors open to transmit to the_ Valor. _You should have a clear shot from ADS Cannon 48. Get to the cannon and blow it out into space_!"

"Why am I not surprised at this?" I commented, "Isaac and I have been doing everything so far!" But Kendra disappeared again.

"Come on!" Isaac cried, "We've got no time to lose!" And following that, we marched back the way we came, killing an Enhanced Slasher before climbing onto an elevator back the way we came and heading up to ADS Cannon 48.

Right in front of us, a monster of a Necromorph was blocking the door as Isaac took over the cannon once more, just like when the asteroids had crashed onto this part of the ship. "_Manual override initiated_," a voice said as Isaac began to shoot at the yellow pods on the tentacles.

"It's all on you, Isaac!" I shouted, patting his shoulder and crouching behind him as he took on this boss battle (or what probably would have been a boss battle if I had been playing the game at home). This time, our Hull Integrity started at 100 instead of 85, but that wasn't an issue. For a large Necromorph, this creature was pretty easy to kill, and even though Isaac took a little bit of damage, his shooting was still very good. In that moment, I realized I wasn't jealous of him anymore. He had become too good of a friend to me to harbor those immature feelings, so I decided to let them go.

After what felt like ages, the hulking beast outside seemed to finally die off. "All right!" I cried happily, but my joy was cut short when Kendra contacted us again.

"USM Valor, _this is Kendra Daniels of the_ USG Ishimura, _come in! Do not open the escape pod_! USM Valor, _this is Kendra Daniels of the_ USG Ishimura, _come in! Do not open the escape pod! Dammit, respond!_"

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Isaac commented as the live feed suddenly switched, showing the _USM Valor_ instead. The room was a bloodbath. In the corner of the screen was a Marine, and behind him, something was sneaking up on him.

"They opened the escape pod," I whispered in horror as we watched the Slasher attack the Marine. In that instant, the screen went static before returning to Kendra, and Isaac and I looked away.

"_Why did they open the pod, damn it_?" Kendra fumed, closing her eyes in anger and sadness. Isaac and I sighed before glancing up and noticing a ship flying right towards us.

"The _Valor_!" I cried as it flew out of control.

"_Oh my God_!" Kendra screamed, "_It's headed right for us! Isaac! Timmy! Get the fuck out of there! It's going to crash into the ship!_" At first, we were too petrified to move, but then we recovered our senses and leaped up from the cannon.

"Get down!" Isaac shouted, yanking me to the ground as the _Valor_ crashed into the _Ishimura_ with a loud _bang_, shaking the cannon we were in and throwing us down to the ground. I felt myself experience whiplash as I crashed to the floor next to Isaac, who had already blacked out from the impact.

"Oh," I groaned, feeling my neck muscles ache as things began to fade in and out. The crash emitted a brilliant white light, which was the last thing I saw before I fainted as well.

* * *

_Was I dreaming, or was my neck still playing tricks with me? _

_When I opened my eyes, I saw nothing but white light all around me, and a figure was approaching me in the distance. When the person got closer, I realized who it was. _

_"Al!" I cried happily, running over to my brother and hugging him. _

_"Timmy!" he replied, returning the hug. _

_"Oh, I'm so glad to see you!" I told him, "You have no idea how much of a nightmare this has all been!" _

_"I bet," Allen replied, "Listen, Timmy. The Necromorphs aren't going to stop. You've got to help Isaac end the nightmare." _

_I frowned. "What are you talking about?" I asked, "You've never played this game before! You're too afraid, remember? What would you know about the Necromorphs?" _

_"Game?" Allen echoed, "This is no game, Timmy. You've got to help make us whole again." _

_"What?" I gasped, "Al, stop talking like this! Why are you even here, anyway?" _

_"Make us whole again, Timmy," Allen repeated insistently, "Make us whole again." _

_"Stop it!" I cried, holding my hands up to my ears, "Stop it!" _

_"Help me, Timmy. Help me! You've got to make us whole again!" _

_"Leave me alone!" I yelled, "You're not my brother! You're not Allen!" _

_"But I am," Allen replied, "Aren't you happy to see me?" When I glanced up at him, however, I noticed his face looked more gaunt, and he took on the appearance of the skeleton. _

_"Get away from me!" I snapped, "You're not my brother!" _

_"Timmy!" Allen snarled, "This will not end. It will not end until you and Isaac make us whole again." _

_"No!" I cried as my brother transformed into a Necromorph and lunged for me… _

_

* * *

_

"AHH!" I cried as I shot up from where I was lying by the cannon, cursing to myself as I felt sharp pains in my neck from the whiplash. I looked around as I thought about the haunting dream of my brother. "Make us whole again"? Wasn't that what Nicole had apparently said to Isaac? It left me chilled to the bone, and I didn't want to think about it in that moment.

"Isaac," I whispered, shaking him slightly, "Wake up." He was still out cold, even though a video log was beginning to play in front of him. In the video, a blonde woman appeared, and she looked depressed.

"_Isaac, it's me_," she greeted, "_I wish I could talk to you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything_." Was it…? No, it couldn't have been.

"Nicole?" I whispered to myself as I heard Isaac shuffle around next to me as he woke up.

"_I wish I could just…talk to someone_," Nicole continued, "_It's all falling apart here, I_-"

However, Nicole was gone and in her place was someone else familiar. "_Isaac! Timmy, are you there_?" Zach Hammond asked, "_Thank God you're all right! I've been trying to reach you two! Someone's been blocking my RIG signal remotely. That crash must have interrupted the signal block._"

"Hammond!" Isaac and I both shouted in relief at the same time.

"_Hammond_!" Kendra gasped, "_Where the hell have you been_?"

"_Surviving, barely. I found some med supplies and patched myself up. Listen. I'm calling abort on the mission. __Fuck__ the C.E.C. and __fuck__ the chain of command. We have to get the hell out of here! I think I've located a shuttle on the Crew Deck. The flight log says it needs a new singularity core, but we can probably salvage one from the_ Valor. _I can see the tail-end of it sticking out of the side of the_ Ishimura. _I'm heading down there now to find a way inside. I'll meet you two there. Hammond out_."

"Right," Isaac piped up, "It's good to have you back, Hammond."

"Yeah, it is," I agreed, "And don't worry, I won't give Isaac a hard time." I smiled a little bit as Hammond chuckled at the joke.

"_You sure changed from when we met through the video log on Engineering_," he commented just before going offline and leaving us with Kendra.

"_Isaac, Timmy, if what he says is true about the shuttle, then we might have a chance of getting out of here. Head to the cargo bay and see if you can help Hammond. In his condition, he may not last long_."

"Oh have a little faith in the guy, Kendra," I piped up, "He's survived this long, right?"

"_You never know on this ship. Good luck, you two_." She hung up.

"Are you all right?" Isaac asked me, steadying himself as he got up from the ground again.

I nodded. "My neck hurts a little bit, but I'm okay," I replied, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Let's go." He led me out of the now destroyed cannon and back to the tram station.

True to his word, Hammond decided to go ahead to the _Valor_ just as we arrived in the tram station of the cargo bay. "_Isaac, Timmy? Good, you both made it inside! Listen! I just found the munitions log for the_ Valor! _I don't think their presence here is a coincidence! They're not on reconnaissance and they're not on patrol! This ship is prepped for war! They're on a seek and destroy mission! Do you hear me?_"

"Seek and destroy?" Isaac replied, "Why?"

But before we could answer, we lost his signal, and Kendra appeared again. "_Isaac, Timmy, I've lost him again! No signal from Hammond's RIG... Find the singularity core and get the hell out of there_!" she ordered, which made me realize we were about to go into the _USM Valor_ itself.

* * *

_**A while later… **_

The _USM Valor _was in bad shape from what we saw as we slowly made our way around the crashed ship shortly after getting rid of the radioactive material floating around. And that was just an understatement. Corpses of the slaughtered marines were scattered around the floor, and small fires burned from the impact. The first thing we noticed when we entered the _Valor _was something running away in the distance. "The hell?" Isaac whispered harshly.

"I don't think I want to know what that was," I replied.

"It moved pretty fast, though," the engineer said, "Just be careful." I nodded, readying the flamethrower in case anything happened. So far, everything was pretty quiet, except for when we first ran into whatever was running away from us. With a growl, it sprinted towards us very quickly, not giving us a lot of time to react.

"Oh, shit!" I cursed, turning on the flamethrower as Isaac used the Pulse Rifle. While it was running, this Necromorph had twitched, earning its nickname "The Twitcher" from us.

"Crap," I gasped, "How many more of those do you think are here?"

"Probably a lot more," Isaac whispered, "Don't let your guard down for a minute."

"Hell no." We continued to creep through the _Valor_ just as Isaac stopped again and stared at some blank monitors up ahead.

"All right, that was just weird," he commented as we moved on, "I saw Nicole again, but she didn't look right. There was a skull flashing behind her face." He scratched his head in confusion as I remembered my dream.

"What did she say?" I asked, figuring I would play along with Isaac whenever he claimed to have spoken to Nicole.

"Make us whole again," he replied, "Why does she keep telling me that? I thought she would have reached us by now!"

I shrugged. "I don't know," I said as we moved on, killing more Necromorphs and replacing the battery next to an elevator before climbing in and going to the next part.

What happened next, however, took us by surprise. A video log suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of Isaac, and a familiar face greeted us through the static. "_Mr. Clarke,_" the man began, "_I must speak with you. My name is Terrence Kyne. Dr. Kyne._" At that moment, I felt anger bubble under my skin for the first time in a long time.

"Dr. Kyne," Isaac whispered under his breath as Kyne continued. I had hidden behind the engineer for the time being.

"_Listen to me. There isn't much time. If you really can repair the shuttle, there is a better use for it than just running away._"

"So in other words, you were eavesdropping on us before," I snapped, and Isaac shushed me while Kyne ignored me for the moment.

"_You must understand the forces at work here are greater than you can imagine. If you leave now, you condemn all humanity!_"

"Is that a threat?" I snarled low enough so that neither of them would hear me.

"_The planet will never stop, never rest, unless the Marker is returned! Don't you see? The Church is wrong! This is all a trap! I've seen it!" _He then looked broken.

"_Please,_" he pleaded, "_You must help me._"

"Or _what?_" I snapped as I moved out from behind Isaac, "You'll stab us in the eye? You'll hold us hostage? You'll _leave us with psychos like Mercer?_"

"Calm down, Timmy," Isaac whispered into my ear as Kyne looked at me at last.

"_Mr. Stamford_," he sighed, "_I never thought I would see you again. You got out of the Medical Deck, huh_?"

"Yeah, no thanks to _you_!" Maybe I was going overboard, or reverting back to my old ways, but I couldn't help it; I was angry. Terrence Kyne had been my reasons for deciding to stick with Isaac in the first place.

"_Mr. Stamford_," Kyne piped up again, "_I'm so sorry. I had to find the Marker! I had to stop Matthius_!"

"Oh, you stopped him all right," I mumbled, but they didn't hear me.

"_I thought you would understand_," the doctor replied, "_You promised you would help me_." I sighed as I remembered that conversation. I couldn't deny it; I _had _promised I would help, since he had gotten me out of Mercer's office for that short time.

"You're right," I reluctantly confirmed, "I did say that I would. But I still can't believe you just took off like that!"

"I'm sure it wasn't intentional," Isaac jumped in, "He's just trying to do what we're doing."

"_Yes, yes!_" Kyne insisted, "_See? Mr. Clarke understands!_"

"How did you know we were trying to repair the escape shuttle, though?" Isaac asked as we climbed out of the elevator and began to pick our way around the dark hallways up ahead.

Kyne sighed. "_I was going to explain everything,_" he replied, "_But it seems you already know about what I've done. Amelia told me that the only way to end all of this is to return the Marker to the colony! And then you arrived, Mr. Clarke. I've been watching your progress since you've been here. Good work, I must say. Very good work._" Isaac and I glanced at each other when he mentioned his wife's name, neither of us in the mood to tell him that she was dead.

"_And you, Mr. Stamford,_" he continued, facing me now as we plowed our way through the _Valor_, "_I went back to the Medical Deck to see if you were still there, but you were gone by then, so I left. A little later, I saw you had met up with Mr. Clarke. I was surprised you had gotten away from Challus, but relieved at the same time. You were still alive._" I remained silent, but I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He had gone back to look for me?

"_I know you two can help me,_" Kyne repeated, "_Please. You're the only ones who understand._"

I glanced at Isaac again as he considered it. It was clear he had his misgivings about this, after what we had discovered about the doctor. He was clearly unstable, and seemed like he was ready to blow a fuse at us if we refused to help him. But I also remembered that he had given me the suit I was wearing now. If he hadn't done that, I wouldn't have survived a second in the vacuum areas.

"You know what?" I decided, "You _did _try and help me escape from Mercer. That has to count for something."

"And you are trying to help stop the Necromorphs," Isaac added, "All right, then. We'll help you."

Kyne breathed a sigh of relief. "_Thank you,_" he thanked us, "_Thank you so much!_" He went offline.

"Terrence Kyne," I mused out loud, "I never thought I would see him again." _Who would have thought he was looking for me this whole time? _I thought to myself.

"Let's just hope he stays with us when we do help him," Isaac said as we confronted the next room, which was filled with lasers. Up ahead, a Twitcher climbed out of the vent, and in its rush to kill us, it got itself caught in the lasers and dismembered.

"Oh, boy," I said, gulping.

"Let's go," Isaac whispered, leading me into the room, where we wondered what else would happen on the _USM Valor._


	10. Getting Out in One Piece

Thank you to TheGunSlinger82 for the review, as well as anyone else who has been reading up to this point! It's kind of hard to believe, but this story is almost finished! Just a couple more chapters! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs are mine. Everyone else, as well as dialogue from audio and video transmissions, as well as text logs, belong to Visceral Games and EA. Any other plot points and dialogue is mine.

**Bold- **Dr. Kyne's POV

**_Bold and Italics- _**Third-person POV

* * *

**As soon as I disconnected from Mr. Clarke and Mr. Stamford, I allowed myself to breathe a huge sigh of relief. They understood where I was coming from. They were going to help me. Mr. Stamford had forgiven me for leaving him with Challus. I had to admit I was worried at first, however; neither one of them seemed sure, especially after letting me know that they knew about what I had done. It was all for a good reason. I had to stop Matthius! I needed to stop the Necromorphs! **

**"Terrence," a familiar voice whispered from behind me, and when I whipped around, I found myself gazing at my wife. She was calm, as always, and she smiled at me as she moved to stand by the cameras where I was situated. **

**"Amelia," I replied. **

**"Terrence," Amelia repeated, "Make us whole again." **

**"I will, Amelia," I assured her, "They're going to help me now." **

**"Who?" she asked, pulling away for a minute. **

**"Mr. Clarke and Mr. Stamford," I responded, "They just agreed to help me." Amelia nodded. **

**"I knew you would get them to see," she said, "You know what you have to do now." **

**"Yes, Amelia," I sighed, closing my eyes for a minute, "I just have to wait for them to return with the singularity core." **

**"I'll be waiting as well," she quipped, "When this is over, we can finally be together again. Think about it, Terrence. The nightmare will be over." She wrapped her arms around me in a loving embrace, which I returned wholeheartedly. **

**"I'll make us whole again," I vowed while Amelia just smiled again. **

**

* * *

**

"_Lockdown initiated," _a male voice announced later on once we had gotten through a little more of the _Valor_. Alarms rang and yellow lights flashed, just like the quarantine lights on the _Ishimura. _

"I see the _Valor _likes to lock us in with the Necromorphs as well," Isaac commented dryly as he dismembered a Pregnant that was stomping towards us.

"Tell me about it," I agreed, "What the hell kind of lockdown is that?"

"Not a good one if you ask me," Isaac replied as he used his Line Gun to take out a few Lurkers that had crawled into the room. While we concentrated on killing all the Necromorphs that were entering the room, I faced Isaac as we reloaded.

"So what do you think of Terrence Kyne?" I asked.

"I don't know what he has planned about the Marker," Isaac answered, "But he seems trustworthy." He aimed his Pulse Rifle at a few Exploders that were sprinting towards us and we watched as they exploded.

"That was very mature of you to forgive him, though," the engineer commented as we waited for the next enemy to arrive.

I sighed. "He just seemed so broken already," I mused, "And there's no point in holding on to that anger. He tried to help me. That's all that matters. Plus, we're all in the same boat now." Isaac nodded, and after a few minutes, we had finally taken out all the enemies in the room.

"_Lockdown lifted_," the same male voice announced again as the doors unlocked and the lights turned back on. Luckily, the Necromorphs had dropped a lot of materials, so while Isaac collected them, I found a text log in the corner of the room, which I picked up and began to read.

"_EYES ONLY - PRIORITY BLACK _

_FROM: CHIEF OF STAFF, EARTH DEFENSE _

_ATTN: COMMANDER CADIGAN, F. _

_OPERATION WHITE LIGHT _

_THEATER: AEGIS SYSTEM, PLANET PENDING _

_OBJECTIVE: DEEP CLEANSE _

_CEC vessel_ USG Ishimura _in breach of government order. They are believed to have recovered Marker 3A. Special Ops has confirmed the system but has been unable to provide the planet location. Special Ops advises caution. If Marker 3A has been recovered, infection by a lethal organism is a credible threat. Shockpoint to Aegis system, move to position out of local scope range and await signal from_ Ishimura _to confirm location_."

"Hey, Isaac," I began, "Come look at this." After finishing at the Store, Isaac sauntered over to me. I handed the text log over to him and watched as he quickly read through it.

"Marker 3A?" I questioned, "What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"There's more than one Marker, maybe?" Isaac guessed as he pocketed the text log.

"Maybe," I replied, "This is getting stranger every minute."

"Let's keep going. Hopefully, we can find some answers." We sprinted out of the room and up to the next area, where we spotted someone running away in the distance. A large door greeted us on the right, which we went through, and as soon as we did, the entire room started to shake. Up above us, flames shot out everywhere, and we decided to rude the cargo lift up to see what was going on.

"Timmy, look!" Isaac suddenly exclaimed, pointing up ahead, "There it is! The singularity core!"

"Finally!" I cried, "Let's go get it!" Advancing cautiously, we used the large barrels with the Kinesis symbols on them to plow through the flames, shooting fuses that were on each side in order to stop the flames. We took quite a bit of damage, but were in good spirits by the time the whole ordeal was over. The singularity core was ours now. We had finally reached it after going through the _Valor_. As Isaac picked it up, Kendra appeared on a video log again.

"_Engine power failure,_" the system announced as everything began to shake around us.

"_Is that it?_" Kendra asked, "_You got it? Oh my God, you got it! That's the piece we need!_"

"We sure did," I replied, grinning, "I knew we could do it!"

"_Get to the Crew Deck!_"

"We're on it!" Isaac replied as Kendra disconnected from us.

"I can't believe we made it," I gasped as we made our way back down again into another big room. Up ahead, we could see the exit, but the glass wall was blocking it.

"Now what?" Isaac asked.

Suddenly, the large door on the other side of the glass opened, and Hammond sprinted into the small hallway with his Pulse Rifle armed and ready. "Hammond!" we cried as a familiar roaring sound caught our ears.

"Isaac! Timmy!" Hammond shouted, "Over here!" We ran over to him quickly.

"I've been trying to reach you, but my comm was out!" the Commander explained.

"Don't worry about it," Isaac replied, "We've got the singularity core."

"That's our ticket out of here!" Hammond exclaimed, "You two, get that core to the shuttle! Don't wait for me!"

"No!" I shouted, "We won't leave you!"

"Timmy!" Hammond responded, "You and Isaac need to get out of here now!"

"Hammond, behind you!" Isaac suddenly yelled, pointing at the door as an Enhanced Brute plowed into the room towards Hammond. It roared again and we covered our ears. In a panic, Hammond shot at the Brute's back with his Pulse Rifle, but what happened next was shocking.

"Oh, fuck me," he cursed, "AHH!"

"HAMMOND!" Isaac and I both shouted, our voices going soar as we watched the Brute grab Hammond and slam him to the ground as the glass in front of us cracked a little bit. _No, no, no, _I thought, _Oh, fuck no! _

The Brute loomed over him as it grabbed his leg. Horrified, I buried my face into Isaac's side as all I heard was Hammond screaming in pain and the Brute roaring. Sickening thuds echoed from the other side as well, and I screamed. Boy, did I scream. Opening my eyes again, I looked up to see that the Brute had pulled off one of Hammond's legs and then slammed down on his body before tossing him through the glass. As Hammond flat lined, the glass broke, shattering everywhere and forcing us to duck. "HAMMOND!" I shrieked again.

"NO!" Isaac cried, whipping out his own Pulse Rifle while I readied the flamethrower. The Brute began plowing towards us and slammed into us again, knocking us to the ground as we lost our footing.

"BASTARD!" we shouted as Isaac used Stasis and ran behind the Brute, shooting its back while I used the flamethrower to torch its arms.

"_Lockdown initiated_," we heard the male voice of the _Valor _announce.

"No!" Isaac snapped, "This is not the time to lock down!"

"Look out!" I cried as the Brute charged again, delivering more crippling damage. Isaac switched to his Line Gun, using Stasis and continuing to shoot the Enhanced Brute until it was dead. This one was much more brutal than the others we had faced, but after a while, it finally went down, to our relief. I couldn't believe Hammond was dead! He really seemed like he would pull through.

"_Lock down lifted._"

"Hammond," I choked as Isaac and I approached his body and knelt down by it for a minute. Isaac knelt down next to me just as Kendra sent us an audio log.

"_I just lost all of Hammond's vitals!" _she cried, "_Is he dead? Oh, God. It's just us now, you two…_"

"Timmy," Isaac whispered, helping me up from the ground, "Don't worry. It'll be all right. Hammond will not have died in vain." I knew he was floored at this turn of events as well, but he still knew how to be comforting when necessary.

"Whatever started all of this will pay," I growled as I followed Isaac out of the room after picking up Hammond's Pulse Rifle. I couldn't believe it when we had lost Hammond. It was one thing for the other survivors to suddenly die, but when close allies began to flat line, then we knew the situation was serious.

"_Warning. Catastrophic failure of fuel containment. Evacuate the vessel immediately._" All around us, the _Valor _began to shake, and we knew we had to get out of there now. That message about the fuel containment repeated itself as we retraced our steps back into the vacuum. After a few well-timed jumps, we eventually made it back to the _Ishimura. _

"Don't worry, Hammond," I whispered under my breath, "We'll get out of here."

* * *

"_Welcome to the Crew Deck,_" the female voice greeted again as we climbed out of the shuttle.

"_Isaac, Timmy,_" Kendra began as she contacted us again, "_I've located the shuttle Hammond found! Shit. No good. The shuttle's brain dead. Someone removed the navigation cards. God knows why. There are three of them scattered around the deck. I'm downloading their locations. I can't access the doors from here, so you'll need a Crew Key. If you can find those parts, I think we can get that shuttle operational again!_"

"All right, then," Isaac replied, "We have to get out of here. I have to find Nicole." I sighed as we made our way into the Crew Deck, where a bunch of candles and Unitology writing greeted us.

"Whoa," I gasped, "These same symbols were in Mercer's office. I wonder what they translate to, though." I tilted my head to the side as I tried to read some of the writing on the floor, but it didn't make any sense to me.

"I guess we'll find out," Isaac mumbled, "Come on!" We ran over to the elevator in the corner and made our way upstairs and into the Security Hall, where the door was locked. Along the way, however, something caught our attention. There was a woman singing, and even though her voice was muffled, we still barely caught the words.

"_Twinkle, twinkle, little star,_" she sang, "_How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky…_"

"What the hell?" I whispered, "Now, nursery rhymes are getting creepy?" Isaac shrugged as I felt a chill go down my spine.

"_Amelia?_" Dr. Kyne suddenly spoke up through our RIGs while we tried to get into the locked door in front of us, "_No, no, no, NO! NO! The shuttle is mine! I control access to the shuttle! I could make the journey. I could fix everything…I'm sorry, you two, but unless you can prove to me you can get it space worthy again, I'm afraid I can't let you through. I need to know you're on my side._"

"We already agreed to help you," I reminded him, "Remember?"

Isaac shook his head. "He's very paranoid at this point," he explained to me, "He could think we were lying back on the _Valor._"

"Good point," I agreed. Kyne didn't reply, but he was gone shortly after that small speech.

"Was he talking to himself just now?" Isaac asked as we turned around and walked down the hallway.

"Sounded like it," I replied, not bothering to comment any further.

However, after a quick visit to the Bench, we went through to the next hallway, where organic material covered the floors and walls. "Yuck," I groaned, shuddering as we tiptoed through. Up ahead, we spotted someone struggling against his restraints and another figure towering over him. My blood began to run cold, and my arm throbbed again where the Necromorph tissue had spread. _Shit, _I thought, _I hope that's not…_

"What do you cling to when all must seem so utterly hopeless around you?" Dr. Mercer asked the man in the chair as Isaac and I crept closer to the large window. _Damn it, _I cursed to myself, _What the fuck is he doing here? _Isaac and I both raised our Pulse Rifles and pointed them at Mercer.

"Dr. Cross was a true believer," the madman continued, "She had faith. And now, she awaits her transformation. Her rebirth." We glanced over to another corpse of a woman, and we realized she was Dr. Elizabeth Cross.

"From Hydroponics," Isaac muttered to himself.

"Are _you _ready to ascend, Mr. Temple?" Mercer asked, gently cupping his free hand around Jacob Temple's jaws and holding him in place. He pinched his cheeks a little bit like Mom would do to my baby brother, David, sometimes. I felt myself shake in anger again.

"No!" Temple snapped, trying to bite Mercer's bloody hand and squirming in the seat.

"Of course you are!" Mercer exclaimed in a calm voice, "Have no fear." He glanced over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at us as we raised our weapons a little bit higher. Not that we could _do _anything from behind the glass, but it was enough to try and intimidate him a little bit.

"You will play your parts soon enough," he hissed at us and then turning back to Temple.

"Witness the conviction," Mercer petitioned, raising the metal stake in his other hand, "Of a _true believer!_"

"NO!" Isaac and I both shouted as we watched him stab Temple in the head.

"Shit!" Isaac cursed as we watched Temple slump to the ground. We looked away as Mercer wiped the blood off his metal stake and then stretched his arms out in an open embrace.

"They are ready!" he announced to whatever gods were above him, "Take them! Embrace them!"

"You bastard!" I snapped, shooting my Pulse Rifle at him, but cursing to myself as I realized the glass was bulletproof.

Mercer pocketed his metal stake, approached us, and placed his bloody hands on the glass, grinning at us knowingly. "I told you I would convert you, Phase Two," he taunted.

"My name is Timmy," I snarled, "Not Phase Two. I'm not your scared lab rat anymore."

"You removed the navigation cards, didn't you?" Isaac snapped as well.

"Of course I did," Mercer laughed, "Did you really think you two could escape your fates?"

"For a while," Isaac piped up, "Yes."

"We'll see how strong you really are." Smirking again, Mercer walked away, leaving us to stare at the bodies of Elizabeth Cross and Jacob Temple.

We entered the mess hall, where a Divider greeted us on the floor below, and once it was down, it split up into its components. After getting rid of the components, as well as obtaining the Crew Key, we rode the elevator back up to the top floor again when we received a message from Dr. Kyne again.

"_Mr. Clarke! Mr. Stamford!"_ he began, "_I really…must speak with you two! I'm very close to your position and…and I know you'll want to hear what I have to say!"_ _That's a lot to expect out of us, _I thought to myself.

"_I can explain all this!_" Kyne insisted, "_I know what happened! When you have the Nav Cards, I'll let you into the Security Station. We must talk! Hurry!_"

We sprinted back out into the hallway, where we killed another Guardian and an Enhanced Slasher. "Challus Mercer," I commented out loud, "Back from the Medical Deck. He must _really _hate that we're alive right now."

"You've got that right," Isaac piped up as we continued on our way, "Why does he think humans are weak so much?"

"If he would stop obsessing over these Necromorphs and see how deadly they are, maybe we would find out," I fumed as we began trying to find the Nav cards.

* * *

_**Two Nav Cards later…**_

"Zero-G Basketball?" I asked in fascination as Isaac picked up the second Nav card. Getting them hadn't been a walk in the park; we had to battle tons of Necromorphs including a third Drag Tentacle, as well as plow our way through cold Sleep Blocks and vacuums. As we made our way around the Crew Deck, we continued to hear "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", and I thought about how David loved that song. How _I _used to love it as a child. Now it was just creepy.

"This looks badass," I commented, "Too bad we don't have time to play a game."

"Yeah," Isaac said, "It's pretty fun. Nicole loves it."

I glanced over at the engineer as he spoke his girlfriend's name with a hint of nostalgia…and hope. "Don't worry," I assured him, "I'm sure she's around somewhere."

"I hope so. If she's sending me all these messages, she should tell me where she is. It kills me that she isn't! I have to fix things with her."

"What happened between you two?" I asked as we left the Zero-G Basketball court, "Did you…uhh…you know…"

"Break up?" Isaac finished for me.

"Yeah," I said.

"Yeah, we did. We had a fight two years ago, just after she got a promotion to the _USG Ishimura. _She became the senior medical officer here, and this was around the same time my career began to stagnate. She thought the long-distance relationship idea wouldn't work, so she decided to end things before she left on the _Ishimura._"

_Aww, _I thought to myself as I patted Isaac on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, man," I apologized.

_"_It hurt for a while," Isaac admitted, "But when she sent out that distress call to the _Kellion, _I knew I had to go. I had to see if she was all right."

_"_And I'm sure she is," I replied, "We'll find her." And with that, we continued on our way until we arrived near Sleep Block C.

Right by the Save Station, we heard a muffled voice from the other end of the door, and when we went to see what it was, we spotted Mercer on a screen again, and it looked like he had gone into full-on preaching mode.

We weren't sure which part of the video it was, but we stopped to listen after killing a few pods like the ones from the Guardians. "This guy's lost it!" I cried, aghast, removing part of the suit on my arm to check out how far the tissue had spread. It was now covering almost my entire arm. _Shit! _I thought as we listened to Mercer preach his horrifying beliefs.

"_How can you be turning away from the Church at this vital hour?" _he demanded as Isaac and I silently stood and listened, "_Do not abandon your faith! What's happening on the colony is not a tragedy! It is God's work. The truth is even more fantastic! On the planet below us, we have found a Marker! Can't you see? God's plan is unfolding, and we are its inheritors. We will ascend as we always knew we would. Unitology is truth! And your death is the first phase of this transformation. _

_"Do not be deterred by the physical methods of transformation. Soon, you will be beyond any physical concerns. You must have faith in the process. Where are you going, you fools? This is what we have been searching for all these years! This is what we have been waiting for! Don't listen to them! Come back! COME BACK!_" The video screen went to static before the recording began to play again.

_"_Damn," Isaac commented as we continued on our way, collecting items from various rooms in the process, "He can preach."

I didn't comment, for all I was thinking about were the psycho's first words as we left the area: "_How can you be turning away from the Church at this vital hour?_"

We made our way through Sleep Block C, taking note of the bunks and the Kinesis symbols that were on them. I waited as Isaac used Kinesis to move them aside, and in the bunks were some corpses. I seriously hoped none of these people took Mercer's advice.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" a voice suddenly laughed as we rounded the corner. Right in front of us was a woman, and she was sitting on the ground as she clutched a pistol in her hands.

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" she cackled before raising the gun to her head and pulling the trigger.

"No!" I shouted as she slumped to the ground and passed onto the next life.

"None of these people care about getting off this ship?" Isaac asked in a frustrated tone.

"That's what Mercer wants," I replied, "And that's what he's getting! We need to stay alive! We have to beat him!"

"Well, here's the last Nav Card," the engineer announced, picking up the last Nav Card and leading me back the way we came. We suddenly heard our RIGs go off, and Mercer's voice poured into our ears.

"_This time, there will be no escape for you, my friends,_" he hissed, "_You have been most resourceful up until now, but my creation is free! Reborn in the fierce heat of light itself! Now it's time to play your parts!_"

_Boom! _In the corner, something popped out of a vent in the ceiling, and in horror, we realized it was Phase Three/The Hunter once again. "Oh, crap!" I shouted, "This motherfucker is back!"

_"_Take the Nav Cards and run!" Isaac ordered, handing them to me, "I'll try and block the Hunter!"

_"_I'm not just going to leave you here!" I protested.

_"_Just go! I'll be right behind you!" I gulped and nodded, running away as I heard the Hunter roar. I sprinted until I returned to the main room where Mercer's sermon had been playing, but I didn't hear anything else from Isaac, which made me worried.

_"Isaac, Timmy,_" Kendra announced to us, "_That son of a bitch just overrode the door lock! I'll try to run a bypass! Hold on!_"

_"_Okay!" I responded, "Hurry up, though! We don't have a lot of time!"

_"I'll try!_" She hung up, and I stood by the door as I waited for Isaac. _Come on, come on! _I thought.

In the corner, a few Enhanced Slashers roared and plowed towards me, and taking out my trusty flamethrower, I burned them all as I still nervously waited for Isaac. I switched to Hammond's Pulse Rifle, just in case, as I heard my RIG go off again.

"_Do you feel stronger now, Phase Two?_" Mercer asked, putting a nasty emphasis on "Phase Two".

"Fuck you!" I cursed as I used the Pulse Rifle to take out a few more Necromorphs.

"_Do you really think you can avoid your death? You're already dying every second you breathe. Your arm is undergoing a transformation. Would you really let the tissue slowly spread to the rest of your body? Or would you rather ascend much faster?" _

_"_Leave me alone!" I snapped just as, to my relief, I spotted Isaac staggering through the bunks in the corner.

_"Consider my offer, Timothy. You will see soon._" He disappeared. On the monitor where Mercer's preaching had taken place, another face appeared. One that was very familiar to me.

_"Timmy,_" my brother's voice whispered to me, "_Make us whole again._"

_"_Oh, no, not again!" I snapped, "You're not Al!"

_"_Timmy!" I heard Isaac shout from next to me as the image of Allen disappeared.

_"_Isaac?" I asked as I opened my eyes to see the blank monitor, "Am I losing my mind?"

"No, you're not," he assured me.

"I just saw my brother," I announced to him, "He said the same thing Nicole said to you. 'Make us whole again'." I sighed.

"_Okay, I bypassed the lock!_" Kendra announced, "_Get out of there!_"

"Got it!" Isaac replied, taking the Nav Cards back and ushering me into the hallway to get away from the Hunter.

"_Excellent work, you two_!" Dr. Kyne complimented, "_Excellent work. Now... come and meet me in the Executive area. The door is unlocked. Be quick_."

We were just about to say something when Kendra contacted us again. "_Isaac, Timmy, be careful with Dr. Kyne,_" she warned us,_ "A lot of what I've discovered so far has come from his records... the man has clearly gone insane. He might be unstable, maybe even violent_."

"Yeah, we've obtained some video and audio logs about him," Isaac replied, "We'll be fine, don't worry."

"_Good luck._" Kendra hung up, and we quickly made our way back to the elevator, where we decided to go to the Executive Area now. At least Kyne would know we were on his side now.

By the time we returned to the entrance to the Crew Deck, we caught "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" again. "_When the blazing sun is gone, when there nothing shines upon,_" the same woman from before sang, "_Then you show your little light. Twinkle, twinkle, all the night._"

"That song is giving me the creeps now," I commented as we rode the cargo lift back to the way we had gone, but not before killing some Infectors and Enhanced Slashers first.

"Yeah," Isaac agreed, "Me too."

By the time we arrived at the unlocked door to the Executive Area, we spotted Dr. Kyne with his back facing us, and we caught a little bit of what he was saying.

"Amelia," he began, "I knew that you would know what to do. I knew. I love you so…" he trailed off there, suddenly whirling around as if he had sensed we were there.

"You made it!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, "Thank God, you made it!"

"Yep," I piped up, "We're here! _Ta da!_" I spread my arms out dramatically in an attempt to lighten the mood a little bit.

"We've got the Nav cards right here, too," Isaac announced, holding them up for Dr. Kyne to see.

"Good, good!" Kyne complimented, "I've been following your progress. I know you want to repair the Executive Shuttle and leave this place, but…escape is impossible at this point! The…the shuttle's Shockpoint drive is destroyed."

"Oh, that's lovely," I commented, glancing at Isaac, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Kyne picked up on the sinking sensations in our stomachs. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" he insisted rapidly while he began to pace around back and forth, "Don't lose hope! At first, _I _lost hope. I tried to scuttle the ship, sabotage the systems…but Amelia…she changed things. The church! They think the Marker is _divine, _but they don't know what's happened here! What's been released! Look, look, look…look at this!" He pressed a button on his glove and began to transmit a video to us. In that moment, he seemed to just lose it, which made us hope he wouldn't start going off on us soon.

In the video, a man was running away from a tentacle in the corner, and soon, the camera zoomed in to a much bigger beast with a loud roar. "Oh my God!" Isaac petitioned.

"What the _hell _is that?" I asked.

"That is what we found in the core of the planet," Kyne explained quickly, "Mercer calls it the Hive Mind."

"The Hive Mind!" Isaac and I gasped at the same time, remembering what Mercer had said to us in the Chemistry Lab: _You should not spurn the Hive Mind's offerings. You two deserve to witness that, at least._

"You two know of the Hive Mind already?" Kyne asked in surprise.

"Mercer told us not to spurn the Hive Mind's offerings," Isaac retorted.

"What exactly _is _the Hive Mind?" I asked next.

"It's the source…controlling all the Necromorphs telepathically. We were so _stupid!_ But Amelia, she knew! She knew it could be stopped…by returning the Marker to the planet! The Marker was containing it within the planet. Return the Marker, and seal the Hive Mind!" He then turned away from us and began pacing once again.

"Please," he choked, "I'm sorry, Amelia. I bear much of the responsibility for this tragedy. Now, I must take responsibility for ending it, and atone for my sins."

"See, Isaac?" I whispered to him low enough so that Kyne wouldn't hear me, "That's how _you _looked in the Mining Deck."

"I was not talking to myself," the engineer whispered back just as Kyne stopped pacing and pointed at us again.

"But you two can help me," he said, "If you can repair the shuttle, and bring the Marker back on board, we can end this. Forever."

"We'll help you," Isaac promised him, and Kyne looked immensely relieved.

"Thank you," he thanked us, "Both of you."

"Don't mention it," I sighed as we waved to Kyne and then continued on our way into the Captain's quarters, where another audio log waited for us. After we killed all the Pregnants in the room, we took a breather for a minute and decided to listen to it.

"_Captain's log, personal. I want to set the record straight. By the time this log is heard, my actions will have been vindicated. I'm a Unitologist. By now, it's probably no secret that we shouldn't be in this star system. Just another illegal mining job for the company... That is until the colony found the Marker. That was when the Church took an interest, and chose me to lead this pilgrimage. They also ensured many of the mission crew were devout. My primary instruction was to get the Marker up from the colony and on board the ship._

"_Dr. Kyne, with the CSO, is an expert on the Original Marker and was tasked with deciphering this new one. He says he's making good progress. My decision to quarantine the colony is sound. They've got some kind of epidemic down there, and I can't allow it to infect the ship! Not with such a precious cargo! Not when we are so close! Planet Crack takes place tomorrow. We'll continue to decipher the Marker, and when we return home, we'll pass all our findings, and the Marker, to the Church. The government isn't going to cover this one up. Altman be praised._" The audio log ended.

"Original Marker?" Isaac questioned as we explored the various different rooms.

"I swear to God," I fumed, "Someone needs to start giving us concise answers."

* * *

_**An installation of the three Nav Cards later…**_

**"**_Test firing shuttle engine,_" a voice announced as brilliant flames shot out of the back of the shuttle.

"Woohoo!" I exclaimed, "That baby looks ready to run!"

"I'll say," Isaac gasped, but suddenly, we spotted a Twitcher bursting out of a vent in the ground and running around in circles while trying to look for us.

_Bam! _In the room we were in, another vent burst open as the Hunter appeared, stomping over to us in in an attempt to attack us. "Go!" Isaac cried, using Stasis to slow down Phase Three before pushing me out of the room. Outside, we took care of two Twitchers that had entered the room and tried to kill us, and then we realized what we had to do.

_"_All right," Isaac announced, "Here's what we're going to do. Go back inside the room, and wait for me to lure the Hunter into the path of the shuttle engines. When I give you the signal, test the engines."

I gulped. It was risky, but it was our only chance. If the Hunter didn't die from this, we would have to come up with another solution. "Good luck," I cried as I sprinted back to the room and waited by the activation panel, my finger ready to press the button if I needed to. However, as soon as I got back, a Twitcher leaped down from the ceiling and lunged for me, and I quickly took care of it before getting back to what we really needed to do.

It seemed to take a while, but finally, Isaac managed to use Stasis on the Hunter before running and giving me the signal. With one shaky hand, I activated the shuttle engines. "_Test firing shuttle engines,_" a voice announced as the Hunter finally burned to death, roaring as it gave in to the flames.

"Finally!" I cried as Isaac reentered the room and stood next to me.

"I knew we could kill the Hunter," Isaac agreed.

"I'm just sorry that whoever he was had to be killed by Mercer," I said.

In the corner, we saw Kyne make his way towards the shuttle. "It works?" he asked, "Yes, this will work! There's still time to make things right! The shuttle needs to be released before launch…The Control Panel, there!" He pointed at us.

"I need you to guide the undocking procedures while I start the shuttle's engines. This will make us whole again. Hurry! I'll take the shuttle up to the Flight Deck where the Marker is being held!"

"Hold on," Isaac replied, "'Make us whole again'? You've been hearing that, too?" But Kyne was gone, and after we activated the switch on the right panel, we watched as Kyne took the shuttle to the Flight Deck.

"_I'm en route to the Flight Deck,_" he announced to us, "_Meet me there, and we can load the Marker on board. Yes, Amelia. Soon, we'll take it home._"

_Oh, no, _I thought to myself, _He's talking to himself, too! Just like Isaac was! _

"_I don't know if Kyne is crazy or not,_" Kendra piped up once Kyne was gone, "_But we need that shuttle. Let's keep him on our side…for now._"

"What do you mean, 'for now'?" I demanded, but she didn't answer as she hung up as well.

"Let's go to the Flight Deck," Isaac said to me encouragingly, "It's time to put an end to this!"

* * *

_**Silence. It engulfed the entire Crew Deck where Mercer was walking around. He was in complete shock for the first time in a long time. His creation was gone; Timmy and Isaac had actually managed to kill it. His mind was in shambles. How had they managed to live through everything? He had turned off life support and altered climate conditions in Sleep Block B, and he had released the Hunter on them, yet they managed to persevere their lives. **_**Perhaps our species isn't as weak as I had originally thought, **_**he realized as he continued to pace. **_

_**Mercer remembered for an instant how he had first reacted when the infection began. He had been afraid; he had wanted to stay alive as well, but something changed over the next couple of hours. As he remained hidden in one of the side rooms on the Medical Deck, he had watched as his fellow crew members had fled from the Necromorphs. He had watched how some of them were easily killed, and as time went on, he realized that humans were weak. Some of them had stopped trying to fight back; the Necromorphs had won. And that was when he realized that the Necromorphs were the answer to humanity's future. And now, it was time for him to take that same path. At that moment, an Infector was rounding the corner and approaching him. **_

_**Pressing a button on his gloved hand, he began transmitting a video log to Isaac and Timmy, who were making their way back to the tram station. "Your time has come," he announced to them, "No reason to be frightened. No reason to fight. Many have gone before us, and now it's time for us to take the voyage together, to transcend death, and let the future take its course. Join me, as I gaze upon the face of God!" He zoomed the camera out a little bit so that they would see the Infector coming into view. Both Timmy and Isaac looked horrified. **_

_**"Mercer, wait!" Timmy shouted, but he was too late. Mercer was already kneeling to the ground, spreading his arms out in another open embrace and smiling as the Infector screeched in front of him. He welcomed the Necromorph with open arms as he felt the Infector impale him in the head. He chuckled a little bit as his vision faded in and out. He glanced at the live feed again, where Timmy had taken off his helmet for a second. **_

_**"Goodbye, Isaac," he whispered to Isaac, "Goodbye, Timmy.**_**" **

_**"Mercer!**_**" **_**Isaac shouted, and that was the last thing the doctor heard before everything went silent around him. **_

_**

* * *

**_

"Oh, no!" I cried in horror, "No, no, no! This is not happening!" Mercer had actually just sent us a live suicide video of himself getting killed by an Infector. If the Infector was fast…this would be bad news.

"We have to stop that transformation!" Isaac declared, "Hurry!"

"Oh, I'm way ahead of you, Isaac," I quipped, "He can't get what he always wanted!" At the same time however, I was surprised he had called us by our names, and even more so that he used my nickname. I wondered why he had done that instead of just referring to us as "my friends" or "Phase Two". It didn't matter now, though; we had to stop him from ascending.

However, to our misfortune, we were too late; the Infector was finished infecting Mercer's body, and it screeched as it flapped its wings and backed off. "Damn it!" I cursed, pounding my fist against the wall. Right in front of us, Mercer hissed as he stood up on his feet and got used to being an Enhanced Slasher. He suddenly whirled around to face us, his red eyes gleaming as he growled again. For the first time in a long time, I was nervous, but only because there was still something unsettlingly _human _about Challus Mercer, even in his transformed state. Almost as if he recognized us.

Almost immediately, he sprinted towards us, grabbing me and throwing me to the ground as Isaac took on the Infector. "Isaac, look out!" I cried, but I felt Mercer use his blades to hold me down.

"AHH!" I cried, feeling his blade cut across my arm. Above me, I heard Isaac finish off the Infector before he moved onto Mercer next. But Mercer was strong. Much stronger than the other Enhanced Slashers we had taken on.

Like some of the other Slashers, I felt Mercer sink his new teeth into my neck, which hurt like hell. I struggled to break free, hoping that I would have a clear shot at getting him with my Flamethrower for everything he had done to us. To me.

The sound of Isaac's Pulse Rifle brought me back to the struggle at hand, and with a screech, Mercer let go of me, and I used that opportunity to kick him out of the way. While he was recovering himself, I threw myself towards him and tackled him to the ground all while reaching for my flamethrower. Underneath me, Mercer hissed again and knocked me out of the way before sprinting towards me again. Throwing my hands out, I grabbed the sharp ends of his blades, which cut into my hands as we struggled, but I ignored the pain for the time being. He was too close to aim with any type of weapon, which made melee the only method of combat useful for close encounters.

It was a tense struggle, but for me, the more I fought with Mercer, the more I felt better. I was releasing all my anger towards him. He'd been a thorn in my side since I'd been here, and now he was paying for it.

There were a few close calls as I felt Mercer slam me into a couple of walls, but I suddenly found I was getting the upper hand. Backing him up into a corner of the room, Isaac and I cornered him and took out our weapons.

"This is for all those crew members you murdered and used for your experiments!" Isaac declared as he took out his Plasma Cutter and began to dismember the Slasher. Mercer growled and glared at me, swiping at me with his blades.

"And this is for using me as a lab rat! And putting me through that horrible experience!" I added, flipping the flamethrower to its highest settings and torching Mercer. He shrieked in agony between Isaac's Plasma Cutter and my flames, but we didn't stop our attacks. Challus Mercer, Necromorph or not, deserved it for everything he had done.

After a few seconds, Mercer growled one last time and finally closed his eyes as he fell to the ground at my feet. I could feel blood run down my face, as well as on my hands, and I let out a sigh. "He's…he's dead," I gasped, "He's actually dead."

"Yes," Isaac replied as we just stood over Mercer's transformed body. In that moment, I felt a lump form in my throat, and I felt tears begin to run down my cheeks as I leaned against the wall next to me. I felt immense relief at the fact that Challus Mercer couldn't touch us anymore. Couldn't hurt me anymore.

"It's over," I choked, wiping the tears off my face, "It's actually over."

"He won't be able to murder anyone else now," Isaac said comfortingly.

"That's for sure," I responded, the tears stopping and allowing me to pick my head up again. I had done it! I had conquered and triumphed over Challus Mercer! Perhaps there was some hope left out there.

"Let's go," Isaac whispered, and I slowly followed him over to the elevator, but not before glancing at Mercer's body once more. I sighed and closed my eyes. _Better luck next time, _I thought, _Challus. We beat you at your own game! And we will get out of this alive!_


	11. End of a Connection

Thanks again to TheGunSlinger82 for the review, as well as anyone else who has been reading up to now! There's only one more chapter after this one! Enjoy! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy is mine. Everyone else, as well as dialogue from audio and video transmissions, belongs to Visceral Games and EA. All other dialogue and plot points are mine.

**Bold- **Dr. Kyne's POV

_Italics- _Isaac's POV

* * *

Well, I knew one thing for sure at this point: nothing else could go wrong. Right?

"_Welcome to the Flight Deck,_" the robotic voice greeted again as Isaac and I arrived there on the tram.

"Remember how I told you I had barricaded myself in a room when I heard you arrived here?" I asked Isaac. He nodded.

"I was really with Mercer. He was about to experiment on my arm again when I heard those announcements."

"That's what I figured," Isaac commented, "At least you're being honest now." I shrugged just as Kyne contacted us again.

"_Mr. Clarke, Mr. Stamford_," he began quickly, "_I'm approaching the shuttle hangar. You must... You must find your way to the Cargo Bay! The Marker... it's being stored in there. There's a cargo loading lift there you can use to deliver the Marker up to the hangar. Please... you must help me with this! It's the only way..._"

"We're on our way!" Isaac replied as Kyne disappeared.

"Funny how we're not hearing from Kendra right now," I mused, "I don't like what she said back on the Crew Deck. 'Let's keep him on our side…_for now_'? That doesn't sound right at all."

"I was thinking that, too," Isaac told me, "We'll ask her about it when we get to the shuttle." I nodded. Things seemed to be looking up a little bit despite the recent turn of events. I missed Hammond, and Mercer was finally out of our lives. It was a lot to take in.

"I never thought I would be back here," Isaac quipped, similar to what I had said back in Mercer's office, "This is where the _Kellion _crash landed. I tried to get it operational again, but it blew up before I could do anything."

"Wow," I gasped, "How long ago was that?"

"Feels like days."

"Maybe it _was _days."

Isaac checked his navigator, and he saw that it was pointing him to a new door that he apparently hadn't been in before. "This way!" he cried, waving with his Plasma Cutter. We jogged through the door up ahead, where we ran into a few Necromorphs and quickly killed them before moving on. We ran around the top area, opening all the lockers and crates and collecting all the items in sight. I loved doing this. It made me feel powerful. Like I could do anything.

"Over here!" Isaac called out, and we climbed on the elevator and moved down to the floor below us, where we took care of more Necromorphs before activating the console in front of us. The cargo bay began to shake around us, and we felt wind blow across our bodies as something rolled into view from far away. A red, spiraling tower greeted us, and there was all sorts of Unitology writing on the bottom.

"Whoa," I gasped, "Is that…?"

"Yep," Isaac answered for me, "The Marker."

"_Delivering cargo shipment 782. Kinesis Module required for further cargo transport." _

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem," Isaac commented, patting his Kinesis module fondly, "Keep an eye out for any Necromorphs. I'm going to try and move the Marker." I nodded.

"We can do this," I said encouragingly, and I crept alongside Isaac as he used Kinesis to guide the Marker in its path. Of course, a million Necromorphs appeared out of nowhere to attack us, but we managed to subdue them. There were even a few tentacles not unlike the three Drag Tentacles we had encountered earlier on. But we managed to move the Marker until we couldn't anymore.

"_Delivering cargo shipment 782 to the Hangar Bay._"

As we watched it disappear, Kyne radioed in to us again. "_The cargo lift has arrived,_" he announced, "_The Marker is in the Hangar Bay. Now you two can load it into the shuttle. Hurry!_"

"Hey now," I piped up, "These things take time."

"_This one doesn't, Mr. Stamford. Hurry!_"

"All right, all right," I sighed, and Isaac and I began returning to the tram station, where we finally heard from Kendra "No Show" Daniels.

"_I restored power to the elevator,_" she told us, "_Take it up to the Hangar Bay and get that Marker on the shuttle. I'm heading up to the flight deck now. Oh, God…I'm just going to run for it. Wish me luck!_"

"Good luck!" Isaac replied as we stopped at the Store to our right.

"For now," I couldn't help but add. Isaac glanced at me, and Kendra seemed floored as well.

"_Excuse me?_" she asked.

"I said good luck for now," I added.

"_Are you trying to be a smartass again?_" she asked.

"No," I replied, smiling to myself, "Good luck, Kendra."

"_Some people never learn…_" she grumbled, trailing off as she went offline.

"You know how to push the right buttons," Isaac commented as we bought some more items at the Store. By now, he had changed into a Level Five suit, so he seemed like he was invincible.

"I told you," I said, shrugging, "I don't like how she emphasized that. The sooner we get the Marker back to the colony, the better!" And on that note, Isaac and I continued on our way to the Hangar Bay.

* * *

**At last. At last. The Marker was going home. It was going back to the colony. This nightmare would be over, and I would finally be exonerated. **

**"Amelia," I whispered as I continued to stare at the Marker, where it was situated in the Hangar Bay, "We did it." **

**"No," my wife replied, moving to stand next to me, "**_**You **_**did it, Terrence. I knew you would." **

**"I couldn't have done it without you," I reminded her, "Or without Isaac and Timmy." **

**"Yes," Amelia quipped, nodding, "They deserve their recognition, too. We're going to be whole again, Terrence." **

**"Of course we are," I agreed, wrapping my arm around her as I stared at the Red Marker once again. All I had to do was wait for Isaac and Timmy to move it onto the shuttle, and we would be ready to go. **

**But what would happen after this? Once we returned the Marker to the colony, what would become of us? So many questions clouded my mind, but there would be time to answer them. I glanced up at the cameras to see my two allies arriving in the Hangar, so I decided to sit back and watch as they moved the large relic onto the shuttle. We were going home at last! **

**

* * *

**

_"Entering zero gravity._"

Once again, I looked around for any Necromorphs as Isaac used Kinesis to slowly guide the Marker onto the shuttle. It took a while, but we were pulling it off quite nicely. Lurkers and Leapers popped out of nowhere and used the zero gravity to their advantage, but we slaughtered them all before carrying on with the task at hand. After about ten minutes, Isaac finally managed to get the Marker on the shuttle. "Whew!" he sighed, shaking his hand out. That must have been a lot of work.

"We did it," I gasped.

Kyne seemed to agree with us. "_Okay, it's in position. Eh, still having trouble with these damn loading controls. Isaac, Timmy, restore gravity to the room. I should be able to load the Marker then._" With a few well-placed jumps, we scaled our way to the gravity control panel, and by now, I realized I had gotten used to both zero-g and a vacuum. If we ever returned to solid ground, I bet my body would ache for a long time.

"_Exiting zero gravity. Loading cargo shipment 782._"

"That's it," Isaac announced as we watched the Marker go inside the shuttle.

"_It's on board!_" Kyne cheered in a video log, "_Please, come and join me. Together, we can stop this Hive Mind! We can end this nightmare! At last!_"

"Terrence!" I cried just as he was about to go away, "Thank you. For everything."

"_All for a good cause, my boy. Now come along. We must hurry!_" He disappeared, and we sprinted down to the shuttle itself. We couldn't help but run quickly. The sooner this nightmare was over, the better.

Right next to the shuttle, we spotted Kyne standing and waving to us. "Over here!" he shouted.

"Stay right there!" Isaac commanded, "We'll be there in a second!"

"Hurry!" Kyne insisted, "There's no time to waste! We must do it-"

_Bam! _From out of nowhere, we suddenly heard a gunshot, and blood splattered across Kyne's chest and back.

"Dr. Kyne!" we both shouted, running over to him as he knelt to the ground and extended his hand out.

"Don't move!" Isaac ordered, "Timmy, do you have a large health pack?"

"Here!" I shoved it into Isaac's hand and watched as the engineer tried to heal him as much as he could.

"Wait," Kyne choked, "Amelia. Where are you going? Wait!" And with that, he collapsed, too late for us to save him.

Next to us, the shuttle engines roared as the hangar opened and the vehicle flew out of the _Ishimura. _"What the fuck just happened?" I asked in shock.

As soon as the shuttle was gone, a video log popped up in front of us, and to our surprise, it was Kendra. "_Kendra?_" we gasped.

"_Sorry, boys_," she apologized insincerely, "_I couldn't let him go through with it. I suppose I should thank him for finding the Marker. We even managed without help from the_ USM Valor. _Thank you for helping me find it, by the way. My department's been looking for this place for a long time. See, what Kyne didn't know was, it was the government's mess to begin with. This whole planet is one big experiment_."

"_What the hell?_" Isaac snapped, furious.

But Kendra continued. "_The Marker? This "divine relic"? Made by man. They reverse-engineered it a couple of hundred years ago from the REAL Marker, a true alien artifact recovered on Earth. They dug it up, studied it, and made it their own. Then they brought it to Aegis 7, and activated it. And you've seen the result. The stuff of nightmares. They sealed the system, and no one would have been the wiser_."

"You _liar_!" I yelled, "You fucking liar! You said you didn't know _shit _about the Marker!" Kendra smirked.

"_Goes to show how much you know,_" she taunted, "_But then C.E.C. blunders in and starts tearing the planet apart. The experiment was still alive. Kyne was right about the Hive Mind. The Marker would contain it...but that doesn't matter now, does it? I have the Marker, and this entire system can go to hell. For what it's worth, you two did a great job_."

"What the _fuck_, Kendra?" Isaac thundered, marking the first time I had heard him drop the f-bomb during our journey, "You made us go through the whole ship alone, battling Necromorph after Necromorph while _you _just sat on your ass and _pretended _to help us? _And _you tried to pit Hammond against us?"

"_Sorry, Isaac,_" Kendra replied with a sneer, "_But it was all for a good cause. __See you around... Or maybe not._" She disappeared once more.

"What a bitch!" I commented, "I _knew _there was something I didn't like about her! Hammond was more trustworthy than she was!"

"Damn right he was," Isaac agreed in an angry tone of voice, "I can't believe she would do this to us! After everything we've been through. We have to stop her!" He glanced over at me.

"Thank you, Timmy," he thanked me, "You're the only one who's stuck by me through this whole situation."

I sighed. "No problem," I replied, "It's what friends do. Thank you for saving me back on Medical, too."

"It's what friends do," Isaac echoed, "Now, how to stop Kendra…"

"You mean the 'Two-Faced Bitch'," I corrected him, snorting.

Isaac chuckled into his hand. "Or that," he said, but soon after, he looked up again and froze for a minute. After a few seconds, he motioned to me with his Pulse Rifle.

"Come on!" he shouted, "To the flight control room!"

As we began to run, I questioned, "What's in there?"

The engineer paused for a minute. "Nicole," he whispered.

Oh, yeah. I had forgotten about that.

* * *

"Isaac, it's Nicole!" _Nicole greeted as soon as she began her video log to us, "_I need you to help me. Help us! Now! I'm…I'm in the flight control room! Please, Isaac! Please, hurry! I love you!"

_"I'm coming, Nicole!" I assured her, "I love you, too!" She disappeared, leaving Timmy to stare at me again. There was no time for this. We had to stop Kendra! Did she realize how dangerous the Marker was if it wasn't on the colony? It had to be returned there! _

_Oh, damn. Now I was starting to sound like Dr. Kyne. _

_Timmy and I sprinted back the way we came until we made it to the door outside the flight control room. A Guardian waited for us on the wall right next to it, which we took out rather quickly, as well as the pods that were ejected from its belly. Nothing was going to stand in my way now. Nicole was here! I had to see her! _

_"Come on!" I shouted to Timmy, who was picking up some med packs on the floor and dawdling behind me. _

_As we went through the door, the first thing we noticed was the various computer screens, where red, Unitology symbols were flashing so fast that I was worried I would get a seizure. "What is this?" I whispered to myself. _

_"What's what?" Timmy replied, "I don't see anything." _

_However, a voice cut us off. "Isaac?" it asked, "Is that really you?" I whirled around to see Nicole standing by the controls. _

_"Nicole!" I cried happily, sprinting over to her while Timmy crept forward behind us. _

_"I never thought we'd be together again!" Nicole replied, "God, I'm…I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry for what I did! I never meant to hurt you!" _

_"Shh," I whispered as she buried her face into her hands, "It's okay. I'm here now. Come here, Timmy. Look, it's Nicole! She's here, like I knew she would be!" _

_Too bad Timmy was wearing his helmet like I was. I couldn't see his face, but I could tell something was wrong with him. "Uhh, hey, Nicole," he greeted meekly, waving his hand. That was strange. The Timmy I knew for the last few days wouldn't greet someone like that! _

_"Don't mind him," I said to Nicole, "He's just been through a lot." _

_"I can imagine," Nicole replied, "But the Marker! You need to get it back now, Isaac! You can pilot the shuttle remotely from here. Make us whole again! Make us whole again." _

_Ignoring Timmy for the time being, who was now approaching me slowly, I went over to the control panel and activated the shuttle control. "What are you doing?" Timmy asked. _

_"Calling the shuttle back to the _Ishimura,_" I explained to him, "Nicole said it was the only way." _

_"Isaac, about that," Timmy started, but didn't finish, for suddenly, Kendra radioed in to both of us, and she didn't sound happy. _

_"_Isaac, Timmy!"_ she snapped, "_What the hell are you doing? You're making a big mistake! This is not over!_" _

_"Yes, it is," I retorted. _

_"Tell it to someone who cares!" Timmy added. _

_"_Escape pod away,_" a voice announced, "_Crew shuttle USG-09. Repeat, shuttle has ejected escape pod."

_"Great," Timmy groaned, "She still got away." _

_"But we have the shuttle back," I announced, watching as it reentered the hangar. _

_"It doesn't matter," Nicole piped up from the other controls, "She can't escape her fate. No one can." She fixed her gaze to the hangar. _

_"Here it comes! I'll reprogram the shuttle so that we can fly down to the colony. We're so close, Isaac. Now go! Get on the shuttle! I'll meet you there!" _

_"Right away, Nicole," I replied, "We'll see you there." Ushering Timmy along, we ran until we returned to the hangar where the shuttle was located. This was it! We were going to Aegis 7 at last! _

_"Oh, Timmy," I addressed the teenager next to me, "You wanted to tell me something back in the control room?" _

_Timmy looked up and waved me off. "Oh, you know," he responded nonchalantly, "It was nothing. Forget about it." He looked away again, so I grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around to face me. _

_"Come on, now," I replied, "Tell me what's bothering you." _

_Timmy shook his head. "Forget it, Isaac," he quipped, "You wouldn't understand, anyway." _

_"What's that supposed to mean?" _

_"Nothing!" Timmy insisted, "It's just…You're doing it again!" Before I could ask, he was already taking off towards the shuttle. Doing what? Trying to get out of this alive? Why was it that no matter how much he had changed during our adventure, he was still so difficult sometimes? _

_I sprinted after him as I tried to figure out why he was so elusive this time around when at any other point, he wouldn't have hesitated to call someone out. Oh, well. I guessed he would open up when he was ready. _

_Climbing into the shuttle, I spotted him sitting in a seat by the far wall, and I just climbed into the driver's seat. Next to me, Nicole was just entering the cockpit as well and taking the seat next to me. _

_"You're doing the right thing, Isaac," she assured me, "We're together now, the way it always should have been. I knew you would come back for me. Nothing can stop us now." _

_"I knew I would find you, too," I replied, taking her hand in mine, "And now, I'll make us whole again." _

_And from the entrance to the cockpit, I could see Timmy gawking at us, having taken his helmet off for the time being. And for some reason, he was wearing a "What the fuck?" expression on his face. I chose to ignore it for the time being. I was with Nicole, and she was with me. That was how it should have been. _

* * *

_On the way to Aegis 7, I glanced next to me as Nicole rested her head on my shoulder. I was just so happy she was finally here. "Nicole?" I began. _

_"Yes, Isaac?" she asked, glancing up at me. _

_"Whatever happened between us…that was in the past. All that matters is that we're together now." She smiled. _

_"I knew you would forgive me," she said as I nodded. _

_"I do have one question, though: how come you didn't tell me where you were this whole time?" _

_Placing her hand in mine again, Nicole whispered, "Because I knew you would find me. You didn't need my help." _

_"I'll say." _

_"Looks like we're here now," she announced, pointing to Aegis 7, and I watched as we landed right on the colony itself. As I opened the door to the cockpit, I spotted Timmy staring down at the ground sullenly as he clutched his helmet in his hands. He looked up as we began to disembark. _

_"Are we there already?" he asked, yawning and slipping his helmet on over his head. _

_"Yep," I replied, "It's time to end this." He nodded, got up from his seat, and ran down to the loading dock. Where did Kendra go? _

_"Isaac!" Nicole cried to me, "Use one of the loaders to get the Marker off the Shuttle!" _

_"Over here, Timmy!" I cried to him, and he rushed over to help me. We ducked inside the main building, where we took another trip to both the Store and the Bench. The whole time, Timmy was unsettled, though he refused to tell me why, like always. He could still be so damn stubborn sometimes. _

_"You think I'm seeing things again, don't you?" I asked as we continued to upgrade our weapons, "I swear I'm not. You were the one saying you hoped I would find Nicole again, and now that I've found her, you've been acting weird." He didn't comment. _

_"I won't hit you again," I promised. _

_"It's not that," Timmy insisted. _

_"Then what is it?" _

_Before he could answer, Nicole sent us another message. "_Isaac, the Marker needs to be returned to the Pedestal Chamber. Use the loader to bring it there and replace it on the pedestal. Replace what was taken, and make us whole again."

_"Yes, Nicky," I replied, closing my eyes for a minute, "I'll make us whole again." We returned outside, where we unloaded the Marker onto the track. _

_"This is going to take a while," Timmy sighed, staring up at the large relic. _

_And just as we predicted, it did end up taking a while, but everything here was so much different from the _Ishimura. _There were so many bridges and hallways here that we nearly got lost trying to find everything. Not surprisingly, Necromorphs were everywhere as well. Just like back on the Flight Deck, Timmy covered for me while I moved the Marker across the track. There was one point, however, where we had to go through a fan of tunnels in order to restore the power to the bridges before we could continue moving the Marker. The whole time, Timmy seemed tense, but gradually relaxed as we continued on our way. I decided there was no use in arguing with him over Nicole's every appearance. It was clear he didn't want to go into it for whatever reasons he had, so I would just let it go. I had found her. That was all that mattered. _

_The Necromorphs would not let up, however. Neither did the Drag Tentacles. I couldn't understand why; we were just trying to return the Marker to its pedestal. That was supposed to calm them, right? I supposed they didn't see it that way. _

_When it seemed like no more Necromorphs would attack, I continued to use Kinesis to move the Marker back to the pedestal. We were so close. So close! In just a few seconds, this nightmare would end. I hoped. _

_It took a while, but I eventually managed to return the Marker to its rightful place, like Dr. Kyne had wanted. "Finally!" Timmy said in relief, "Does that mean this is all over now?" _

_"We'll see," I sighed, watching as the Marker glowed and sent beams of light into the air. _

_"Thank you, Isaac," Nicole suddenly thanked me, stepping out from behind the Marker, "I always believed in you. I knew you would return to me. We are whole again, Isaac! We are whole!" _

_Before I could say anything, Nicole and the Marker glowed a bright, white until we had to cover our eyes. When the glowing was over, I noticed that she was gone. _

_"Nicole?" I cried, holding my hand out in confusion, "Nicole!" _

_Nothing appeared, which really confused me. "Nicky!" I shouted, "Where did you go?" All around us, the ground began to shake and tectonic loads began to crash down on Aegis 7. _

_"We have to get out of here!" I yelled to Timmy, "Now!" _

* * *

The ordeal was over. The Marker was back on its pedestal, on the colony. Everything should have stopped at that point. Everything had been difficult for us during this journey. I didn't want to say anything to Isaac, but if he wasn't talking to himself on the Mining Deck, then he was now, and I was at a loss of what to do.

"Come on!" I cried over the din just as a robotic voice announced, "_Emergency: geo-orbital gravity tethers offline. Tectonic load released. Impact imminent. Evacuate this area immediately_."

"Oh, great," I snapped, "What else can go wrong?"

"Hopefully nothing," Isaac replied, hurrying me along into a chamber up ahead. Behind us, the glass doors closed and locked just as another voice spoke up.

"_Decontamination cycle activated_," it announced, releasing some air into the chamber. The door in front of us was locked, which we assumed would unlock as soon as this cycle was over. However, we were in for another surprise when the cycle was completed.

"Isaac, Timmy," a familiar voice began, and we whirled around to see Kendra standing outside where we were not too long ago, "You didn't think I was just going to walk away, did you?"

"Uhh, yeah," I replied sarcastically while Isaac fumed from my left, "We actually sort of _did_."

Kendra smirked and shook her head. "I can't do that," she said, "The Marker's coming with me." She shrugged nonchalantly as the Marker began to move across the track again.

"It's a shame, Isaac," she continued, "I was starting to like you. Even if you _are _insane." This proved to be too much for the engineer.

"_Insane?_" he cried incredulously, his Plasma Cutter shaking in his angry hands, "What are you talking about?"

"What?" Kendra taunted, "You don't believe me? Take a look at yourself! Better yet, take a look at that video from Nicole. And this time, watch it right to the end." _Oh, shit, _I thought, wondering what this bitch had up her sleeve.

Suddenly, a screen popped up in front of us, and Nicole appeared in the video. "_Isaac, it's me_," she began, "_I wish I could talk to you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything. I wish I could just…talk to someone. It's all falling apart here. I can't believe what's happening! It's strange…such a little thing. In the end, it comes down to this one…little thing._" The camera zoomed out until it showed Nicole holding a syringe in her hand. She glanced down at her lap sadly, which made my heart rate increase. On the other side of the glass, Kendra smirked knowingly, making me want to kill her more and more.

"_I didn't want it to end like this,_" Nicole choked, sighing, "_I wanted to see you again, just once. I loved you. I've always loved you._" And then following that, she injected herself with whatever was in the syringe.

"No!" Isaac and I shouted at the same time, and a minute after Nicole injected herself, her eyes closed forever and her head tilted backwards. Next to me, Isaac face-palmed himself in sadness and couldn't watch the video anymore, and I was in shocked silence. What gave Kendra the right to show Isaac this video? She was going to pay for hurting him. Big time! And from where she was standing, she began to _laugh_. Laugh! Isaac raised his head again and shook with pure rage now.

"See?" Kendra taunted with an evil chuckle, "You're insane, Isaac! Just like Kyne. Just like the Captain!"

"_You're_ insane, you fucking bitch!" I snapped. Kendra grinned at me, and I realized she was saving something for me after she was done tormenting poor Isaac.

"Nicole has been dead this whole time," she continued as Isaac began pounding on the glass in anger, "Whatever you were seeing was caused by that." She gestured to the Marker.

"You were its pawn," she explained, "Timmy tried to tell you, but he didn't want to hurt your feelings. He knew you had gone insane, that you were only talking to yourself. And you hit him for it in your insanity! You hurt someone innocent in your rage. Isn't that right, Timmy?"

"Leave me out of this!" I hollered.

"Is that true?" Isaac demanded, though his voice was muffled by his helmet.

"Of course it's true!" Kendra answered, "Why do you think he's been pestering you every time you saw Nicole?"

"I didn't know she was dead!" I insisted, even though Isaac was shaking in anger, which I hoped wasn't towards me as well.

"Of course you didn't," Kendra replied sarcastically as I raised my head up to glare at her, "But don't worry; the Marker will be in good hands now. Far away from this damned place! Goodbye, Isaac. Goodbye, Timmy." And with that, Kendra was gone, running towards the Marker to load it onto her escape pod.

"Kendra!" Isaac shouted, pounding on the Plexiglas, "Get back here! Come back!"

"You're going to pay for this!" I added, watching her move to stand next to the Marker. As we regained our composure, I glanced over at Isaac, who had his face buried into his hands. I could hear him breathing heavily.

"No," he whispered to himself, "It's not true. She's not dead."

"Isaac," I began cautiously, reaching out to pat his shoulder, "I'm sorry." As soon as my hand made contact with his shoulder, he pulled away angrily.

"You knew," he hissed, "You knew this whole time and didn't tell me!"

_Oh, no, _I thought, my stomach sinking. "No," I insisted, "It's not what you think."

"Stop the lies!" the engineer snapped, "You know that's why you didn't want to say anything before."

"Isaac," I pleaded, "You've got to believe me that Kendra's just a lying bitch! I didn't know about Nicole. And what was I supposed to say, anyway? 'Isaac, you're going insane'? I'm not like Kendra! I'm not going to do that to you!"

However, I realized Isaac was more than likely either just grieving or in major denial, though I went with the latter. Suddenly, he tilted his head back and let out a scream of frustration as he continued to pound the glass in front of him in agony. I just hung back and watched, seeing the extent at how much he had fallen since I had met him. The realization that he was suffering from dementia, just like Terrence Kyne had, shocked me. In an ironic twist of fate, Isaac Clarke seemed like he was losing it instead of me. And I knew one of us had to stay calm.

Suddenly, we heard something roar in the distance, and Isaac stopped screaming as he glanced up again, reloaded his Plasma Cutter, and stomped through the door up ahead. "That's it!" he snapped, "I'm tired of this nightmare. These _lies_! I'm going to make us whole again, Nicole." And with that, he marched away as the roaring grew more insistent, completely ignoring me in the process.

I stood still for a minute before glancing through the large windows again and seeing a tentacle rear itself up in the distance. "I-Isaac!" I stammered, running through the door as well, "Wait for me!"


	12. Severed Seams

Well, here it is! The final chapter of "Dead Space: Into the Abyss"! Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story! If all goes well, I'll more than likely make a story based on the events of _Dead Space 2_, but since the game hasn't been released yet, it's hard to tell where this story will go. With that in mind, enjoy this last chapter!

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs are mine. Everyone else belongs to Visceral Games and EA. While not all of the characters are mine, plot ideas and speculations about these characters are mine.

_Italics- _Isaac's POV

* * *

Damn, was Isaac in a hurry or what? I found myself having to take breaks from running in order to keep up with him.

"Isaac!" I exclaimed from a few feet behind him, "Stop!" He stopped for a split second, but then resumed walking away. I followed him all the way back to where the Store, the Save Point, and the Bench were.

He quickly stopped at the Store, selling off any unnecessary items before whatever would happen on the other side of those doors. "I don't have a lot of time," he announced, "I have to stop her before she takes the Marker away. I have to make her see! The Marker belongs here! With us!"

"Well, then, let me help you!" I suggested, "We've come too far to back out on each other now. I swear I didn't know anything before." I held a hand out for him to shake, which he glanced at for a minute before turning the other way.

"I'm helping you whether you want me to or not!" I insisted, watching as he turned and quickly upgraded his weapons at the Bench and typed something into the Save Station wordlessly. He then exited through the door up ahead, and I decided to keep following him. It amazed me how everything seemed to unravel in a matter of seconds. All it took was that one little push from Kendra to send Isaac Clarke over the edge, and I prayed that he wouldn't turn on me at any second. He had taught me a lot during my time stuck in this videogame, and I wasn't about to throw it all away over some stupid lie.

Suddenly, the ground shook around us, forcing me and Isaac to fall to the ground just as we spotted Kendra running up the escape ramp. I hated her. I hated what she did to Isaac. I hated the lies she had cooked up. I hated everything about her.

We just watched as she stopped for a minute and eyed a tentacle that had appeared from down below. "Oh my God!" she cried, screaming as the tentacle reared itself up, grabbed her, and threw her back down to where we were. _That's going to hurt in the morning, _I couldn't help but think.

"AHHH!" Kendra screamed as the tentacle crashed down onto her, knocking her unconscious. "Shit!" Isaac cursed from next to me as he covered his eyes, but I was too shocked to look away. Watching Kendra was just like watching a train wreck; it was horrifying, but I couldn't look away. The tentacle rolled her around the platform before slamming her into a wall and causing her to flat line.

"Oh God," I moaned, feeling like I was going to be sick. That tentacle disappeared and another larger one appeared in its place, followed by a massive beast larger than anything I'd ever seen. With a loud roar, it blew some wind onto the platform and exposed some yellow pods. The wind was so strong that we had to crouch down to prevent ourselves from being blown away.

"The Hive Mind," Isaac whispered, moving forward to begin the battle.

"Isaac, wait!" I cried, but the engineer was too out of it to listen to anyone. It had to be his grief over Nicole. What else could it be? Sure, he reminded me of Terrence in many ways at this point, but I didn't think he was insane. Or maybe he was. I didn't know anymore. What I did know was that he was going to get himself killed if he wasn't careful. There was nothing I could do but watch as he shot at the weak spots on the Hive Mind, which was putting up a pretty good fight. Some of its many Drag Tentacles appeared as well, slamming down on the platform and causing us to lose our footing. At one point, it grabbed Isaac with one of its tentacles and lifted him into the air. The whole time, the Hive Mind screeched, forcing me to over my ears. It was giving me a headache.

"Isaac!" I yelled, rushing forward with my Flamethrower to help him. Whether or not he thought I was lying about Nicole, he was my friend and I had to help him whatever way I could. However, by the time I got to him, he was already shooting at the Hive Mind and getting it to let go of him. It was then that we both realized where those Drag Tentacles near the Marker had been coming from, as well as the other three we had encountered on the _Ishimura. _Damn, that must have been scary! To be grabbed by the Hive Mind like that. In the mean time, the Hive Mind was chomping its teeth as it dangled Isaac closer to its mouth, and I couldn't help but stand still and watch, since there was nothing I could do, anyway.

I watched as Isaac delivered enough damage in order to break free from the Hive Mind's grasp. With a loud shriek, the beast dropped Isaac back onto the platform rather painfully. As the Hive Mind regrouped itself, I sprinted over to Isaac, rolling out of the way of one of its tentacles in the process. "Isaac," I panted for the millionth time, "Are you all right?"

"No," the engineer replied, "Nicole. I need to help her." The Hive Mind roared again as we heard it spit something out.

"Go help her!" I said encouragingly, pushing him towards the Hive Mind. What was I doing? I felt funny about this, but I had to try to relate to Isaac somehow. It was heartbreaking to watch my friend descend into this state, just like Kendra had said he would. But he still had the will to go on. He glanced at me without _really _looking at me, pushed me aside, and got up to continue battling the Hive Mind. It was clear he was in denial over Nicole being dead, but everything would be explained later. For now, we had a beast to kill. I had to admit this was different from any other survival horror video game I had played. Everyone had died around us except for the two of us. Looked like we were alone now.

As Isaac advanced towards the Hive Mind again, I watched as a bunch of Pregnants uncurled in front of me and marched towards me. Turning on my maxed out flamethrower, I took care of all of them, taking significant damage in the process. Up ahead, the tentacles from the Hive Mind were slamming Isaac around, causing the health bars on his RIG to flash red, but he quickly healed himself before continuing his assault. I also felt the Hive Mind swipe at me at one point, cutting the arm Mercer had infected. Oh, God, the pain! It was too much. Staggering to the side, I knelt down to the ground and tried to heal myself as Isaac continued the battle. Pregnants began to converge on him, and he had to stop attacking the Hive Mind so that he could take them out. Seeing as I was vulnerable, some of them attacked me as I heard Mercer's voice in my head.

"_Consider my offer, Timothy,_" he had said, "_You will see soon._"

"No, I won't!" I snapped in response, taking Hammond's Pulse Rifle and shooting down the Pregnants in front of me as Isaac nearly finished off the Hive Mind. We had come too far already! We were not going to die!

Isaac seemed to feel the same way. While I remained seated and aimed my flamethrower at the stray Necromorphs, Isaac found himself being picked up by the Hive Mind once again as he shot at the yellow pods in its "organs", so to speak. The Hive Mind roared again, clearly on its last leg, but the engineer never gave up. Around me, I finished taking out the Pregnants and slowly stood up again, steadying myself as I prayed that Isaac would get out of this alive. The ground shook again, and I looked around as debris began to crash down onto Aegis 7. I glanced at the shuttle, but I knew I couldn't leave Isaac here with that beast.

All I could do was helplessly watch as the Hive Mind tried to eat him and failed. After a couple more shots, Isaac Clarke finally managed to defeat the monstrosity in front of us that was responsible for this whole nightmare. As it roared, crashed onto the platform, and fell into oblivion, everything started to crash around us, and ignoring me, Isaac made a beeline for the shuttle.

"Wait up!" I cried, abandoning my weapons, following him, and deciding it was time for me to hightail it out of there as well. Tossing his Plasma Cutter aside, Isaac made for the door, pounding on it with his fists.

"Come on!" he growled, and just like that, the door opened, shutting behind us once we were situated in the two seats. Isaac took control of the wheel and programmed the shuttle to return to space, away from Aegis 7. Debris crashed down around us as we rose through the atmosphere, so it was a relief when we finally made it back into the vast vacuum that was space. I sighed, raising my hand to my head and taking a few deep breaths.

What happened next surprised me. As we continued to cruise along, Isaac reached for his helmet and slowly removed it, revealing his face to me for the first time. _Whoa, _I thought as I took in his black, slightly graying hair, his blue-green eyes, and his overall pale appearance. It wasn't what I was expecting at all, even as I took off my own helmet. He didn't look like other videogame characters, which was refreshing, to tell you the truth. He was just an average Joe. He was a real person.

Setting my helmet aside, I tried coaxing him into talking to me about everything. "Isaac," I started, "Look at me." He didn't answer, but continued to stare despondently at his lap.

"Isaac?" I asked with sympathy, "Are you okay?" He shook his head just as something appeared on one of the screens in the corner. We both looked up to see Nicole again, and we realized it was the video Kendra had shown us before.

"_Isaac, it's me,_" Nicole started again, "_I wish I could talk to you. I'm so-_" Isaac stopped the tape before it could finish. I hung my head in disappointment.

Isaac looked up again and began powering down all the holograms in front of us, leaving us in the pitch black. What the hell was he doing? He continued to stare vacantly out into space, a shell of the man I had met when I first arrived in this hell. Isaac Clarke. My best friend. My only _good _friend.

Suddenly, the engineer perked up and glanced over at the spot next to me. "No!" he suddenly cried out, "Get away!" He began to flail around in his seat, and I glanced from him to the wall, wondering what he could have been seeing.

"Isaac!" I cried, leaning over to try and calm him down, but he pushed me aside. The whole time I tried to calm him down, I could see flashes of Unitology symbols in front of me, as well as an emaciated version of my brother. _No! _I thought, closing my eyes for an instant, _I will not fall under the Marker's influence!_

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" Isaac pleaded. After another minute of thrashing around in his seat, he suddenly stopped and collapsed again, and I could hear my heart beating in my chest. What would happen next?

"Nicole," he choked once it was down, and just like I had been waiting for this whole time, Isaac Clarke finally broke down. Raising his hands up to his face, he began to cry similar to how I had cried outside of Mercer's office. I remained seated where I was, too shocked to do anything in that split second. I felt so sorry for him, so I scooted towards him in my seat and patted his hand gently.

"It'll be okay," I said reassuringly, remembering how he had tried to comfort me after Mercer's first horrifying audio log.

"Everything I fought for," Isaac cried, "It's all gone. All of it."

I shook my head. "No," I replied, "You stopped a pretty nasty infection. And you're not insane, no matter what anyone else thinks." Isaac continued to cry.

"I know you probably don't think very much of me right now," I admitted, "But I'm on your side. Insanity or no insanity."

* * *

Everything was silent once more as our escape pod continued to cruise along. Isaac had fallen asleep after sending out a distress signal, and I was staying awake and watching the control panels in front of us. Hey, one of us had to remain calm, right? And since Isaac was pretty out of it, I decided I would take matters into my own hands. Granted, I was exhausted as hell, and I was just as rattled over this little adventure as Isaac was, but I was still a lot calmer than I thought I would be. For now. I wondered briefly if the higher-ups were trying to teach me a lesson about being more responsible.

Next to me, Isaac must have been having a nightmare, for he was sleeping fitfully and twitching. I had to admit I was nervous as hell. I had never watched someone have a mental and emotional breakdown, so I was at a loss for what to do. I tried everything, but nothing seemed to work.

I wasn't sure how long we had been drifting out in space, but I hoped someone would pick us up soon. The Hive Mind and the Marker were gone; the game was over. So what would happen now?

Out of nowhere, something began to pick up our distress signal. "Isaac," I whispered, shaking the engineer in the shoulder, "Look." He opened his eyes and sat up tiredly, bags forming under his eyes.

"Someone's picking up our distress signals," I announced, pointing at the control panels. He just stared vacantly at them and barely reacted to what I said. It would be a while before he returned to his normal self. How long would that be?

Before we knew it, we heard a clicking noise, and then someone's voice began to pour into the shuttle. "_This is Commander Maxamillian Reinhardt of _Recovery Patrol X22376. _Come in, USG-09. Shuttle USG-09, this is Commander Reinhardt of _Recovery Patrol X22376. _Come in,_" the Commander announced from his end.

"Yes, we read you," Isaac replied sullenly, sitting up and taking the microphone from me.

"_Our Pleasure Cruise just picked up your distress signal," _Commander Reinhardt explained, "_What is your current position?_"

I glanced at Isaac. This was his field of expertise, other than engineering. "About…eight light years from Aegis 7," he reported, to which Reinhardt seemed surprised.

"_Aegis 7?_" he echoed, "_You came from the colony?" _

"That is correct," I answered.

"_Hmm,_" Reinhardt hummed from the other end, "_All right, here's what we're going to do. We're going to continue to follow your course so that we can pick you up and bring you back here. My second in command, Xandar Sklar, will report in when we have visual contact._"

"Understood," I replied, and they went offline. We weren't sure how long it would take them to reach us, but it was still a little bit of hope all the same.

"How are you feeling, Isaac?" I asked the engineer next to me. He didn't reply, but instead had gone back to his catatonic state. What was he thinking about? If he didn't open up about his feelings, would he ever get better?

Time passed by as he looked down at his lap, his face showing that he was in deep thought. Blood trickled down his face from a nasty gash on his forehead, and his eyes had a blank look to them. He was so far gone.

A little while later, we heard from Commander Reinhardt's second in command, Xandar Sklar. "_Shuttle USG-09, come in,_" he announced, "_We have visual contact. Just hang tight, and we'll get you off that shuttle._" I glanced up to see _Recovery Patrol X22376 _sailing towards us.

"You hear that, Isaac?" I asked gently, "We're getting out of here. We're getting help."

However, Isaac shook his head. "No," he said in a low voice, "We'll never get help. The nightmare is over, but it will not end. For you, me, or anyone else." I was shaken by these chilling words, but I forced myself to remain calm. I continued to gaze at the Recovery Patrol as it approached us.

The rescue operation ran into a few complications, so while we waited for them to reach us, Isaac rested his head on my shoulder and repeatedly closed and opened his eyes. "_Twinkle, twinkle, little star,_" he began to sing softly, "_How I wonder what you are._" I felt my stomach turn over and over again, horrified at the next bout of fear and confusion I was being exposed to.

I kept my eyes on the _Recovery Patrol _as Isaac continued to sing. "_Up above the world so high. Like a diamond in the sky._"

"All right!" Reinhardt announced, "We're going to try and bring you in to our loading station! Stay where you are!" I nodded vigorously.

"_When the blazing sun is gone, when there nothing shines upon. Then you show your little light. Twinkle, twinkle, all the night._"

With a lurch, our shuttle began to move towards the docking bay. I glanced down at Isaac, who was fading in and out and staring blankly at our rescue crew.

"_Then the traveler in the dark, thanks you for your little spark. He could not see which way to go. If you did not twinkle so._"

_Bam! _We arrived in the docking bay, and a bunch of men dressed in suits ran into our shuttle and threw the doors open. "All right, let's get you two out of here!" they announced, reaching for us. Isaac tightened his grip on my arm, not finished with the nursery rhyme just yet as we entered the loading bay.

"_When the blazing sun is gone, when there nothing shines upon. Though I know not what you are, twinkle, twinkle, little star." _

By the time he was finished with the song, everyone had gone silent. Some of the crew members of this ship stared at the engineer in confusion. There would be time for explanations later.

"We heard about the _USG Ishimura_," Reinhardt said, "Is that where you two just came from?" I glanced at Isaac, who was staring blankly at the floor as if there was something interesting there.

"Yes," I answered, "It is."

"The nightmare is over," Isaac added, looking up at everyone blankly, "But it will not end."

One of the medical officers pulled me to the side. "What is he talking about?" he demanded.

What could I say? That Isaac Clarke had pretty much gone insane? I didn't want to label him. "He's…been through a lot," I responded instead.

"You both look shaken. Come with us and we'll get you situated. We know just the right place for you." But Isaac shook his head.

"No," he whispered.

"Don't you worry now," the Commander assured him, "Everything will be all right. You haven't lost a limb." I gasped in horror. Was that supposed to be a _joke_? After everything we'd been through?

"Where are you going to take us?" I asked.

Xandar Sklar approached us next and grinned. "Have you ever heard of the _Sprawl?_" he asked.

* * *

Much against Isaac's will, the two of us found ourselves being taken to the _Sprawl, _a civilian space station built on one of Saturn's moons. According to Sklar, there were over one million people currently living there. But what would we be doing on the _Sprawl?_ I guessed we would find out.

As soon as we arrived, Reinhardt and Sklar escorted us off the Recovery Patrol, and the first place we found ourselves being taken was a mental hospital. "Wait a minute!" I protested, "Why are you taking us here?"

"Because of _him,_" Reinhardt explained, pointing to Isaac, "He is mentally unstable. He is a danger to himself, to you, and to all of us."

"Have you even asked us what we've been through?" I asked, "Do you know what we saw down there?"

"Whatever it was was all in your heads," Sklar added. I glared at him.

"No!" Isaac snapped from next to me, "Don't you understand? I have to mourn the dead!" He began to struggle with some of the other doctors who had arrived to take us in.

"Isaac!" I shouted as I felt a beefy hand grip my upper arm.

"There's nothing you can do to help him," Reinhardt quipped, forcing me to watch as the doctors dragged Isaac away. No! They weren't just going to confine him like this! They needed to hear what he had to say! I had to help him!

"Yes, there is!" I snapped, elbowing Reinhardt and Sklar in the side as I made a run for it.

"TIMMY!" Isaac yelled from behind me. I turned for an instant to see that he was staring at me frantically as the doctors dragged him into the hospital.

"Where are you going?" he demanded.

"Don't worry, Isaac!" I assured him, "I'll come back for you!" And with that, I dodged the others as I turned and sprinted out of the hospital. In my rush to go find help, I barely took notice of a woman with short, black hair and brown eyes, who seemed to be watching the scene intently. It didn't matter now. I had to go.

"Hey!" she cried to me as she began running to catch up with me, "Hey, wait!"

Out of nowhere, I felt a sharp, stinging pain in my neck, which I realized was a sedative just before passing out.

* * *

Everything seemed to move slow around me as I traveled through the darkness. Would I ever wake up? What was happening to Isaac? Who was that woman who had tried to accost me? I wasn't sure of any of these questions. All I knew was that I hoped to wake up soon. It was just a sedative that made me faint.

My mouth felt like crap as I felt myself come back into focus, and the first thing I felt was a carpet underneath me. _Carpet! _I thought, slowly opening my eyes.

"God…_damn_," I cursed under my breath as my arm ached, but as soon as my vision cleared a little bit, I noticed the scars Mercer had left were still there, but the infection was gone. _W-what? _I thought, _What's going on? _

"Timmy?" I heard my mom ask from the other side of the closed door, "Are you finished with that game yet?"

Mom! I suddenly opened my eyes all the way to find that I was back in my room, in my own world! I was out of the game! I stared up at the screen, where the Start Menu was still flashing, and I checked myself out to make sure I was all right. It was then that I let out a sigh of relief. It was over. The whole ordeal was over.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm finished!" I cried back, getting up and opening the door to see her there. God, it was good to see her again! With that, I launched myself at her and hugged her tightly.

"Wow, this is different," she commented, returning the hug.

"You have no idea," I muttered under my breath, breaking away from her and hurrying downstairs to find the rest of my family. I spotted Dad sitting in the den, like he always did as he read the newspaper, and I approached him and hugged him.

"Well, well, Timmy," he gasped, "What brought this on? You're not the hugging type."

"Nothing, Dad," I lied, "I just felt like it." He returned the hug quickly before smiling and returning to his paper. Now to find my brothers.

Naturally, I found them in the living room as they watched TV together, the promise I had broken before this whole incident. Allen held David in his arms. "Al!" I cried happily, "David!"

"Timmy!" Allen cried in shock as I raced over to him and tackled him to the ground playfully.

"Al," I began, "I'm so sorry I was such an ass to you earlier. I didn't mean it. I promise I'll make it up to you somehow."

At first, Allen didn't say anything, but when he did, he replied, "That really hurt earlier, you know. When you slammed the door in my face."

I sighed. "I know," I agreed, "I was wrong to do that. But let me make it up to you."

I watched as my brother considered it, wearing a smirk on his face in the process. Oh, God. What was he thinking?

"You still owe me a movie marathon," he announced.

"Deal," I decided, "So, do you forgive me?"

"I forgive you," Allen assured me, and I leaned in to hug him. Thank God he looked like himself after seeing the visions the Marker had given me.

"So, how was _Dead Space_?" he asked as we sat down.

I shuddered. "Scary as all hell?" my brother guessed.

"You have no idea," I repeated. I wasn't ready to share my adventure with him yet, but I was sure I would tell him soon. I then fixed my gaze on David, who was giggling at our antics.

"Hey, David," I greeted, taking him into my arms, "How are you today?" I cradled him back and forth a little bit as he laughed, which made me smile. He was always so happy!

"Hey, Timmy," Allen began, "What happened to your arm?" He pointed at the incisions.

For a second, I had a flashback to Mercer and his horrifying experiments. "Nothing," I lied, "I just cut myself." Allen nodded, but still looked suspicious.

David's laughter brought me out of my flashback, and Allen glanced at the television as well. "No wonder Dave's getting so happy!" he cried, "The Wiggles are on with his favorite song!"

Laughing, I glanced at the TV as The Wiggles began playing music, and ballerinas entered the picture. The music was peaceful. And that was when it started.

"_Twinkle, twinkle, little star,_" the Wiggles sang as the women in the center began to dance, "_How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky…_"

"Oh, no!" I cried, covering my ears, "Al, please change the channel!"

Allen stared at me, surprised. "Why?" he asked.

"I hate that song," I growled.

"How come? You loved it as a kid!"

"That was before…" I trailed off. I was about to say, "Before _Dead Space _came along", but I wasn't ready to tell him about what had happened to me.

"Before what?" Allen piped up.

"Before I stopped listening to nursery rhymes," I replied, "Now I can't stand it!" That wasn't entirely the reason, however.

I fell silent again, listening to the words, but I didn't hear the Wiggles singing; instead, I heard Isaac in his delusional state as he, covered in blood and wearing a vacant expression on his face, repeated these same words as he rested on my shoulder on that shuttle. I realized that image was probably going to haunt me for the rest of my life, hence why I didn't want to hear this song right now. As I closed my eyes, all I could see was Isaac, and he was surrounded by Unitology symbols. He looked broken and disappointed, which made me realize that I would always remember him every time I heard that nursery rhyme. _Damn it, _I cursed to myself, _Why did you leave him on the _Sprawl? _You should have stayed. _

Almost without my own volition, I found myself falling asleep next to my brothers as I continued to picture Isaac's face in front of me as he continued singing the nursery rhyme. That in itself was enough of a reminder.

* * *

_The lights from outside the _Sprawl _shined in my room, illuminating the symbols I had carved into the wall opposite from my bed not too long ago. I wasn't sure how long I had been here. Was it hours? Days? Weeks? It was most likely hours. _

_I felt calm and collected as I sighed. Why was I here? I needed to be out there in the universe. With her. I pressed a hand up to my barred window as I heard voices whisper from the doorway leading into my room. _

_"Have the sedatives kicked in yet?" a female voice asked, followed by a male voice after that. _

_"Seems like it," the male doctor answered, "We'll check on him in a little bit." _

_Before they could go, I turned around. "He said he would be back," I informed them. Both of them glanced at each other, clearly unaware of who I was talking about. _

_"Don't worry, Isaac," the female doctor, whose name I caught was Samara Yasmin, assured me, "I'll be back in a little while. Then we can get started." And without another word, the two of them left, pulling the door shut behind them. I was alone once more. _

_Tucking my knees into my chest, I looked out the barred window again and began to mourn the deceased, like I was supposed to. I closed my eyes for a minute, seeing Nicole in front of me. _

_"Isaac," she began insistently, "Help me! Help me, Isaac!" _

_"Yes," I whispered, "I'll make us whole again. Just like you said." Suddenly, her image was gone and Timmy took her place. _

_"Don't worry, Isaac!" he shouted, "I'll come back for you!" _

_"I know you will," I said to him, "I'll be waiting." Satisfied, he disappeared as well. _

_"I know you'll come back," I muttered under my breath as I glanced at the Unitology symbols I had carved into the wall. With that in mind, I closed my eyes and felt a grin spread across my face as I sang the first song that came to mind:_

"_Twinkle, twinkle, little star,_

_How I wonder what you are. _

_Up above the world so high,_

_Like a diamond in the sky. _

_When the blazing sun is gone,_

_When there nothing shines upon._

_Then you show your little light,_

_Twinkle, twinkle, all the night. _

_Then the traveler in the dark,_

_Thanks you for your little spark. _

_He could not see which way to go,_

_If you did not twinkle so. _

_When the blazing sun is gone, _

_When there nothing shines upon._

_Though I know not what you are,_

_Twinkle, twinkle, little star. _

_Twinkle, twinkle, little star,_

_How I wonder what…you…are…"_


End file.
